SON to stop registration of look-alike products to prevent cloning

Chinazor Megbolu

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has said the agency will put an end to the registration of similar cloned brands in Nigeria.

The Director-General, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim read the riot act to promoters of cloned brands during a courtesy visit of the Alaba International Market Associations to SON office in Lagos.

He said the initiative has become necessary due to cloned brands taking a huge chunk of the market share and equity from originalmanufacturers.

Salim also added that the move is to check fake and substandard products in Nigeria.

He further noted that the federal government agency would continue to discourage the registration of any product that has a

similar business name with an existing brand or those hidden under the names of successful brands in a bid to short-change unsuspecting consumers.

“The issue of cloning brands cannot be handled alone by SON, but going forward, we are going to audit the products we register and certify it.

“Anytime a new product comes and looks similar to another registered product that is already popular in the market, we will try to discourage the registration of that product with such a name, so that other products would be identified properly.

“This will increase traceability of products not yet in circulation,” he said.

Salim, however, announced plans towards increasing its

level of engagement with stakeholders in Nigeria and hinted the agency would help protect the interest of the business community while also safeguarding lives and properties through the initiative.

He also said the body would work with industry stakeholders in order to sensitise the business community on the need to ensure safety and standards.

Salim further warned that unscrupulous individuals caught in the act would be prosecuted.

“We are here to work with them and to make their job easy while also to protect their interests because they are Nigerians employing people and they are doing what needs to be done.

“We are looking forward to cooperating with them to ensure that every other individual in their association not doing the right thing is encouraged to do the right thing in the future.

“We are inviting stakeholders and the plan is to work together with stakeholders to sensitise and train them on safety of lives and property.

“As for those still breaking the laws, we will enforce our laws either by court or through appropriate regulations,” Salim said.

The SON Chief Executive Officer again said the agency would reach out to the community through sensitisation programmes to highlight the negative impacts of substandard goods on the business community.

According to him; “they have promised to work with us and those people who are not doing the right thing would be fished out. The task is for us to continue cooperation, continue openness and to be fair with each other.

“We want you to be our eyes in the market. Help us make our work easy because we are out here to make you competitive. Let us work together to make this happen as we would be reaching to everyone in the market”.

Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman, Electrical Dealers Association of Nigeria (EDAN), Mr. Fabian Ezeorjika in his remarks, noted that there is an already existing partnership with SON to achieve a substandard- free market.

He also reiterated the association’s readiness to work with SON to fishu out the bad elements in the market.

Ezeorjika further stated that the EDAN had formed a Joint Task Force comprising of SON officials and currently running a

“buyer beware campaign” in the market.

“SON has destroyed a lot of products, while some of our members are in court and we are going to increase the level of collaboration with SON becausewe want to bring an end to substandard goods.

Ezeorjika however urged the SON to encourage indigenous manufacturing, saying such move is the surest way of creating wealth and job opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths.

“We need to create a conducive environment for local production.

Importation only creates job opportunities for people we import from.

“We must create a platform to boost local production,” Ezeorjika said.