[kictanet] CCK Press Release - Consultative meeting on the phase out of use of counterfeit mobile handsets

[Walubengo J]

fyi,

walu.

--- On Fri, 9/9/11, Wambua, Christopher <Wambua at cck.go.ke> wrote:
S 
 
 


 

9th
September 2011 

   

NEWS
EDITOR  

   



RE:
CONSULTATIVE MEETING ON THE PHASE OUT OF COUNTERFEIT MOBILE HANDSETS 



The
Commission today held a consultative meeting with the four mobile network
operators, relevant government agencies (i.e. Kenya Bureau of Standards,
Anti-Counterfeit Agency, Office of the President – Kenya Police and NSIS - and
the Kenya Revenue Authority), Article 19 and equipment manufacturer Nokia to
discuss the way forward in respect to the phase out of use of counterfeit
mobile handsets in Kenya. It was observed that use of counterfeit handsets
denies holders of Intellectual Property rights of their legal right to benefit
from the fruits of their innovations. It also exposes consumers to health and
security risks, and denies Government of revenue. 

   

The
meeting, which was quite fruitful, resolved as follows:  


 The
     phase out of use of counterfeit handsets shall be done in a coordinated
     manner to involve all stakeholders including government agencies, industry
     players, consumers and equipment manufacturers. The participating
     government agencies re-affirmed their commitment to continue working
     together to stem the importation and use of counterfeit handsets in the
     country in an effective and sustainable manner.  
 There
     is need for public awareness to be undertaken to sensitize consumers on the
     rationale behind the phasing out of counterfeit mobile handsets, the
     dangers associated with use of counterfeits, and the tentative deadline
     for deactivation of counterfeit mobile phones.     
 To
     stem build up in the number of counterfeit mobile handsets in the market,
     there is need to stop the activation of new SIM cards using counterfeit
     mobile handsets.  In this regard, it was resolved that no new SIM
     cards would be allowed to operate in counterfeits handsets tentatively as
     from 30th September 2011. A meeting of the technical teams from
     the four mobile operators, equipment manufacturers and CCK shall be held
     next Wednesday to deliberate on the suitability of this date.  
 Use
     of counterfeit handsets shall be phased out of the market by the end of
     the year.  Consumers using counterfeit mobile handsets therefore have
     (tentatively) up to 31st December 2011 to replace their mobile
     phones or risk de-activation. The actual date shall be confirmed during
     the meeting of the technical team next week.  


   

   

Issued
by: 

   

   

   

John
Omo 

For: DIRECTOR-GENERAL 

   



 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20110909/d1672246/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4032 bytes
Desc: image002.jpg
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20110909/d1672246/attachment.jpg>