Damages of R458,742 awarded to SABS for unlawful use of its trademark

The Gauteng High Court has instructed sanitiser and disinfectant manufacturer Vex Hygiene to stop using the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) approved trademark and remove it from all its products and packaging.

The court found the company had been making use of the logo illegally.

The judgment, handed down on October 21, awarded damages of R458,742 in favour of the SABS for the unlawful use of the trademark on Vex sanitisers and disinfectants at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Products that falsely claim to be SABS approved can cause a myriad of problems for consumers in SA, with the most concerning impact being the health and safety of consumers,” the SABS said on Wednesday.

“As soon as the SABS became aware of the problem early in 2020, our certification division and legal team contacted the supplier in an attempt to stop the unlawful use of the SABS approved trademark.

“However, these appeals fell on deaf ears and the supplier persisted with the blatant and unlawful use of the SABS approved mark so we had no choice but to pursue legal action as the supplier continued to advertise and sell their products, claiming to be ‘SABS Approved’,” said the SABS’s lead administrator, Jodi Scholtz.

“This judgment creates a precedent and will strengthen the legal prospects for the SABS when companies fail to comply with the cease and desist instruction,” Scholtz said.