PROGRAMMES manager at the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), Carol Simpson, has warned consumers against buying counterfeit or pirated goods, pointing out that trade in such items attracted strong penalties.

Noting that this practice was an “infringement on someone’s intellectual property right,” Simpson urged shoppers to become “more vigilant” when making purchases.

Intellectual property (IP) rights simply speak to the legal rights that a creator or owner of rights has with regard to works that have resulted from intellectual activity in the field of science, industry, art, music, drama, among other things.

But according to Simpson, every aspect of human life has an IP element.

“Product that are bought from the supermarkets, stores and pharmacies would attract either copyright, trademark or patent protection,” she commented.

“There are IP products available on the radio, television, the Internet and printed medium. Every product used and enjoyed by the consumer has an IP value to it.”

As a result, she urged consumers to respect the IP rights of others by being vigilant when making purchases to ensure that the products were genuine.

“IP guarantees the source of origin and the quality of the product. Trademark products such as Walkers Wood, Grace, Red Stripe, Lasco, J Wray and Nephew, and Star Fish Oil, all represent certain quality and identify the source of origin,” she explained.

She also encouraged consumers to purchase items only from reputable sources and not on the sidewalks as there were no guarantees, and very little could be done if something went wrong.

“It is best that items such as music cassettes and compact discs are purchased from authorised distributors as those sold on the streets might be pirated and reproduced without the permission of the authors or musicians,” she said, while adding that there was no recourse when these were found to be defective.

Meanwhile, Simpson said that producers of original works could receive a patent or trademark by registering their work at the JIPO office, while registration for a copyright could be done at the Intellectual Property Service Centre.

JIPO is an agency of the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology.