DED seizes large cache of fake printers and cartridges

In a major move against counterfeiting and intellectual property protection, the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in the Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai, raided a warehouse in the emirate and seized more than half-a-million pieces of duplicate printers and ink cartridges.

The estimated value of the confiscated goods is AED75 million, which makes it the largest seizure of its kind in Dubai. The raid was part of DED’s ongoing efforts to protect intellectual property and trademark owners as well as to enhance Dubai’s reputation as a business hub locally and globally. Specialised teams from CCCP have been conducting regular campaigns and random inspections at warehouses in the city, imposing penalties on violators and destroying confiscated goods.

“The confiscated products carried reputed brand names including HP. It shows the high levels of quality and reputation, which manufacturers of these counterfeit products seek to take advantage of, eventually damaging brand value,” Ibrahim Behzad, Director of the Intellectual Property Rights Department in CCCP.

Behzad said that the examination and classification of the confiscated goods took more than 10 hours as CCCP inspectors follows strict procedures to verify such products against the original trademarks. A full report on the seized goods was sent to the trademark owner so that they can take necessary action to stop counterfeiting and at the same time alert consumers.

“HP responded quickly and their global team visited DED within 48 hours of the seizure to take samples of the counterfeit goods and analyze the source. DED is also planning to enhance our manpower capabilities through organising training programmes with international companies on the best ways to guard intellectual property,” added Behzad.

"HP considers protection of its brand and consumers from counterfeits a serious responsibility. We are grateful to the UAE authorities for their support and assistance in tackling counterfeiting and removing such products from both local and overseas market," said Glenn Jones, Anti-Counterfeiting Manager, HP EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and Americas.

Behzad also cautioned consumers to insist on originals, which would be durable and high in efficiency compared to low-quality and low-performing imitations, and sought their co-operation in cleansing our local market of such counterfeit products.

Counterfeiting endangers the market as well as consumers and therefore trademark violations and traders who prey on vulnerable consumers should be reported. Consumers can report such incidents on the Ahlan Dubai call centre number 600 54 5555, through the smart phone application Sallety, Twitter handle Dubai_consumers or on the Dubai Consumer channel on Blackberry phones.