Brand Protection

 

 

 

 

1/ Brand Protection

Brand Protection Department is a full-fledged competence that aims at ensuring the reputation and competitiveness of a trademark in a competitive environment. Brand Protection sets in motion all the legal procedures (Registration of brands and designs, seizures of counterfeits, lawsuits, etc.) to avoid the Uniwax brand to be used for commercial purposes by unfair competitors.

 

2/ What is a Uniwax cloth counterfeit ?

Counterfeiting Uniwax cloths commonly called " Wax Côte d'Ivoire " refers to two aspects : trademark infringement and counterfeiting of industrial designs or patterns.

Brand is a marketing policy item that makes it possible to distinguish a given manufacturer’s product from another. Indeed, trademark infringement is the unauthorized reproduction of all or part of a company’s visuals (trade name, logo, indication of origin) so as to create confusion among consumers.

Counterfeiting of industrial designs or patterns is the reproduction on fabrics of lesser quality of designs registered with the African Intellectual Property Organization.

In both cases, the infringer’s trick is to be the closest possible to the visual appearance of the authentic product so as to create confusion among the consumers when buying the loincloth.

 

3/ Consequences of conterfeiting ?

Counterfeiting causes a number of adverse effects on the company's activity. Indeed, it affects the brand image of authentic products. Businesses are thus robbed of the benefit of their investment, research, creation, advertisement and commercial development effort.

Counterfeiting also bears a social risk that hinders job security for thousands of Ivorian workers for many jobs were lost in the textile sector due to the closure of more than three-quarters of the companies specialized in cloth spinning, weaving and printing.

Finally, for the consumer loincloth counterfeiting represents an unproductive investment on the long run as loincloth counterfeits do not meet the promises of quality of the imitated brand and the consumer is not entitled to any after-sales service.

 

4/ How does Vlisco Group protect its consumers ?

The Uniwax brand is a promise of quality to the consumer. In order to ensure the health and safety of the consumers of authentic loincloths, Uniwax meets all the health requirements in making loincloths by ensuring a good mix of dyeing chemicals.

Eventually, the consumer has the right to know that any counterfeit product carries uncertainties about its origin, quality, reliability and safety.