Earlier this year, top Italian leather goods fashion house Fendi was informed that a container had been stopped by customs at Port Elizabeth as officials were concerned that the goods were counterfeit. Although the products claimed to be Fendi belts, the company was able to prove that the 3,360 belts were not from Fendi because of the material they were made from. The buckles and metal work were fake and the famous double F logo was not even reproduced accurately, nor were other identifying marks. Although the legal processes took some months to process, success eventually came and the importer has now surrendered the goods for destruction, which was done by burning.

The intellectual property firm John & Kernick which acted on behalf of Fendi, was delighted with the outcome, as was the company itself. Attorney Quentin Boshoff felt that it was important that the Republic’s Counterfeit Goods Act had been shown to work: "The battle against counterfeits can only be won if the majority of people involved – importers, shippers, retailers and law enforcement agencies – agree that counterfeits and other illegally imported goods are to the detriment of the country as a whole and should be reported."