It has come to the attention of the SADC Secretariat that there are some importers/exporters/manufacturers/clearing and forwarding agents that are illegally using a document called “Certificate of Ownership” bearing SADC logo and stamp in order to benefit from SADC Preferential tariff arrangement and other benefits as provided in Annex I to the SADC Protocol on Trade. The SADC Secretariat wishes to inform the general public that there is no any SADC document called or named as “certificate of ownership” and therefore, the document is fake and illegal, and is being used for fraudulent activities. We further wish to inform the general public that the SADC logo is registered and protected trademark, hence using it without prior authorization from the SADC Secretariat infringes Intellectual Property Rights that we are enjoying.
