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Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990)

5. Distinctive marks

 

(1) The Minister may prescribe a distinctive mark for use in connection with—
(a) the sale of a product referred to in section 3(1)(a), the export of a product referred to in section 4 (1), or a particular class or grade of such products, so as to certify the correctness of the indication of the class or grade or, in the case of organically produced products, the production method concerned; and
(b) a particular management control system.

[Subsection (1) substituted by section 7(a) of Act No. 63 of 1998]

 

(2) No person shall in connection with the sale or the export of a product, or the management control system, or a class, grade or production method of that product, use a distinctive mark, or any name, word, expression, reference, particulars or indication which creates or is likely to create the impression that it is a distinctive mark, unless—
(a) it is a distinctive mark prescribed by the Minister in terms of subsection (1);
(b) such product, management control system, or class, grade or production method of that product, complies with the requirements prescribed in terms of section 3(1)(a) for the sale, or in terms of section 4(1) for the export, of the product concerned; and
(c) that person has been authorized in writing by the executive officer to use the distinctive mark concerned in connection with the sale or the export of his or her product, or the management control system, or a class, grade or production method of that product, as the case may be.

[Subsection (2) substituted by section 7(b) of Act No. 63 of 1998]

 

(3) An application for an authorization referred to in subsection (2)(c) shall be made in the prescribed manner, and the Minister may, if he or she deems it necessary in the case of a product, or the management control system, or a class, grade or production method thereof, prescribe the fees payable in respect of such application: Provided that the Minister may prescribe different amounts in respect of the distinctive products, management control systems, or classes, grades or production methods of those products.

[Subsection (3) substituted by section 7 (c) of Act No. 63 of 1998]

 

(4) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2)(b), the executive officer shall issue an authority referred to in subsection (2)(c) subject to such conditions as he or she may determine and specify in the authorization.

 

(5) A person to whom an authority referred to in subsection (2)(c) has been issued, and in respect of whom fees have been prescribed in terms of subsection (3), shall pay the prescribed fees within the prescribed period in order to maintain the authorization for the use of the distinctive mark concerned.

 

(6) An authority referred to in subsection (2)(c)—
(a) shall lapse if the holder thereof fails to pay the fees referred to in subsection (5); and
(b) may be withdrawn by the executive officer if he or she is satisfied that the holder thereof refuses or fails to comply with the requirements referred to in subsection (2)(b) or that the conditions referred to in subsection (4) are not being complied with.