• SAPMA members will make themselves conversant with all legislation relevant to potentially hazardous products – in particular the Occupational Health and Safety Act No.85 of 1993 (OHS Act) and South African National Standard No. 10265 (SANS 10265).This legislation will be adhered to in the preparation of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS’s) and the labelling of product containers.
• SAPMA members will incorporate their name and contact details on their product containers.
• SAPMA members will:
  • Affix a label or sticker reading
    
    “CONTAINS LEAD: SHOULD NOT BE USED ON SURFACES LIABLE TO BE CHEWED OR SUCKED BY CHILDREN”
    
    on all products sold through retail outlets and containing more than 0.15 per cent total lead and/or components containing antimony, arsenic, barium (excluding barium sulphate), cadmium, chromium or mercury.
  • Mark all containers of products sold through retail outlets and containing calcium plumbate and soluble chromate with the warning:

    “HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED
    AVOID CONTACT WITH SKIN
    WASH HANDS AFTER USE
    DO NOT SPRAY
    DO NOT DRY SAND
    DO NOT INHALE DUST”
    

  • Sell only polyamide cured epoxy-based products through retail outlets.
  • Identify components of two-pack products clearly as “base component” and “curing agent component”.
  • Mark all containers of products containing isocyanates with minimum wording as set out in the Attachment to this code.
  • Mark all containers of products containing methanol, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether and their acetates as follows:

    “THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS INGREDIENTS WHICH ARE POTENTIALLY HARMFUL TO HEALTH. AVOID BREATHING VAPOURS, SKIN CONTACT AND INGESTION. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND CONSULT THE MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET”

• Detailed guidelines for paints and pigments containing lead and their labelling requirements are available from the SAPMA office.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Each member agrees in principle to support the ownership and protection of their own and other members’ intellectual property
• SAPMA envisages its further role as that of informing its members and the industry as a whole of recent developments around the issue of intellectual property rights

As an impartial organisation representing the interests of the paint industry in South Africa, SAPMA urges all manufacturers and other stakeholders to familiarise themselves with legislation directly relevant to their business, especially the Copyright Act.

This Act covers the intellectual property rights of manufacturers.

In recent years, very little enforcement within this area of the law has been evident, which has lulled many industry players into a false sense of security.

To emphasise the renewed focus on enforcement within this area, we would draw attention to the fact that two companies have sent out letters during the past twelve months stating that they would require any entity making use of their products to secure a licensing agreement or risk litigation.

The most common current and potential areas of infringement in the market involve registered colour tinting systems. These include point of purchase materials that have been developed by individual manufacturers, and contain copyright-protected combinations of colours referenced with specific names and codes. These colours may not be referenced in any way at store level to tint competitor products, whether in hard copy or on colour tinting software systems, without a pre-existing licence agreement from the developing manufacturer.