SADC Says It Will Prosecute Anyone Using Its Trademarks Without Permission

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has warned members of the public using the regional bloc’s SADC trademarks without permission that they will be prosecuted. In a statement seen by Pindula News, SADC Secretariat said:

CAUTION AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF SADC TRADEMARKS

It has come to the attention of the SADC Secretariat that there are organisations that are using the name “Southern African Development Community” or the acronym “SADC” and the SADC logo to identify their organisation, products, services or their causes.

The SADC Secretariat wishes to inform the general public that the name “Southern African Development Community”; the acronym “SADC”; and the SADC logo are registered and protected trademarks for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, hence the use of these trademarks without prior authorisation from the SADC Secretariat infringes on its Intellectual Property Rights. The fact that an organisation is conducting business in the Southern African region does not necessitate the usage of the SADC brand. The Secretariat will take legal action against anyone who uses the SADC trademarks without permission.

We, therefore, urge the general public to desist from using these registered and protected trademarks, as they can only be exclusively used by the Southern African Development Community, a regional body comprising 16 Member States, namely; Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

For more information or advice, please contact the Communication and Public Relations Unit at the SADC Secretariat, Gaborone, Botswana on prinfo@sadc.int or telephone +267 395 1863

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