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Musica has been convicted of negligence for failing to verify the authenticity of accessories it sold for Sony PlayStation.

July 10, 2008 

By Tom Robbins

Cape Town – Musica has been convicted of negligence for failing to verify the authenticity of accessories it sold for Sony PlayStation.

It emerged from the trial that Musica, which is owned by New Clicks, had procured controllers and memory cards from authorised distributor Ster-Kinekor until October 2005, the national prosecuting authority (NPA) said yesterday. It then switched to a new supplier, Dolphin Enterprises, until December 2006.

Dolphin Enterprises was fined for supplying counterfeit goods, after pleading guilty in a recent court case in Durban.

In the Pretoria commercial crime court last Thursday, Musica was found not guilty of intent to sell counterfeit goods but convicted on the lesser charge of negligence. Sentencing is scheduled for August 6.

The Musica chain has been experiencing buoyant sales of DVDs and computer games.

New Clicks chief executive David Kneale said yesterday that the JSE-listed retail group was disappointed at the outcome. Musica believed it had followed “due process in approving the credentials” of the supplier, he said.

Nevertheless, it had “further reviewed” its processes to make sure it would not happen again.

The initial product bought from Dolphin Enterprises had been authentic, he said. Musica had now instituted proceedings against Dolphin Enterprises.

Musica said the case covered 68 Sony PlayStation 2 controllers and memory cards sold in two stores in March last year. All items found to be counterfeit had been destroyed.

“At the time, we advised customers they could exchange any of these products found to be defective,” Kneale said.

The NPA said that in March last year at two Musica stores in Pretoria, the trade and industry department found counterfeit Sony memory cards and dual shock controllers. This followed a tip-off to the SA Federation Against Copyright Theft that the stores dealt in fake goods.

Last month Levi Strauss South Africa established a brand protection department to stem losses to counterfeit syndicates. The clothing firm said it was surprised to be one of the few local retailers with such a department.

Musica’s gaming sales rose as much as 30.9 percent in the half-year to February.

CD sales fell 1.7 percent. Non-music items, which include DVDs and gaming, now make up 45 percent of sales.