The Workshop took place under the umbrella of an activity of the Swiss-Ghana Intellectual Property Phase II (SGIP II) project which is financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in close collaboration with Ghanaian partners, mainly the Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and Industries and the Registrar General’s Department under the Ministry of Justice.

The overall goal of the SGIP II is to contribute to Ghana’s socio-economic development through promoting the use and protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs). The aim of the Workshop is to improve protection and enforcement of IPRs and safeguarding consumers from substandard goods.

35 officers learned about the threats that counterfeit goods might pose to the health and safety of citizens. The participants took note of the different types of IP infringements, the International legal background to fight counterfeit and piracy, the Ghanaian national procedures, the WCO tools in the fight against counterfeiting and they discussed the way forward.  11 representatives from right holders trained the participants on product identification. During the field exercise in the Port of Tema the officers found a  container full of counterfeit items.