Counterfeit Goods Act, 1997 (Act No. 37 of 1997)17. Liability for damage or loss arising pursuant to application of Act |
| (1) | Any person suffering damage or loss caused by the wrongful seizure, removal or detention of goods alleged to be counterfeit goods, or by any action contemplated in section 7(1)(a), (b) or (c) or (2) wrongfully taken by an inspector with reliance on that section read with section 4(1), or caused during or pursuant to the seizure, removal or detention of such goods in terms of this Act, will be entitled to claim compensation for that damage or loss which claim, subject to subsection (2), will be against the complainant and not against the State, the inspector or the person in charge of the counterfeit goods depot where those goods are or were detained. |
| (2) | The State or such inspector or the person in charge of the relevant counterfeit goods depot, as the case may be, will be liable in respect of a claim contemplated in subsection (1) only if— |
| (a) | in the seizure or removal of the alleged counterfeit goods, the inspector, or, in the detention and storage of those goods, that person so in charge or the inspector (depending on the circumstances), has been grossly negligent; or |
| (b) | the inspector or that person so in charge (as the case may be), in the seizure, removal, detention or storage of those goods, acted in bad faith. |
| (3) | Any reference in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) to an inspector or to a person in charge of a counterfeit goods depot (however expressed) will be construed so as to include any person acting on the instruction or under the supervision of the inspector or the person so in charge, as the case may be. |