By Edward Anyoli
A Kampala city-based businessman has been ordered to pay sh12m to Uganda Breweries Ltd (UBL) over forging the trademark of the company.
Samuel Kamugisha was fined after he pleaded guilty before the Standards, Wildlife and Utilities Court at Buganda Road in Kampala presided over by chief magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu.
Kamasanyu directed that in default, Kamugisha should serve seven years in jail.
Kamugisha was charged with seven offences of forging UBL’s trademark.
When the charges were read out to him in court, he admitted that he had forged the trademark in order to sell Uganda Waragi and V&A.
Prosecution said Kamugisha has been evading prosecution since 2019 until he was arrested recently and taken to court to face trial.
Prosecution led by state attorney Allan Musinguzi at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), said Kamugisha between 2018 and 2019 at Salaama Road, in Makindye division, Kampala with intention to defraud UBL, forged the trademark of V&A
It is alleged that in the same period, Kamugisha forged a trademark of Uganda Waragi, a patent exclusive to UBL.
Kamasanyu, in addition, ordered all the equipment that Kamugisha has been using to produce V&A and Uganda Waragi to be destroyed immediately.
Patent owner
The patent owner has the exclusive right to prevent others from commercially exploiting the patented invention. The patent protection cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold by others without the patent owner’s consent.
