Business | General
Dubai to step up anti-piracy drive
Dubai will intensify its crackdown on counterfeit goods, the Dubai Customs chief warned on Monday, but acknowledged pirated products peddled online posed a major challenge in the anti-piracy drive.
- By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:21 May 20, 2008
- Last year 40 raids were conducted by Dubai Customs on onshore and free zone businesses suspected of dealing in pirated goods.
- Image Credit: Gulf News archive
Dubai: Dubai will intensify its crackdown on counterfeit goods, the Dubai Customs chief warned on Monday, but acknowledged pirated products peddled online posed a major challenge in the anti-piracy drive.
The government employs about 1,000 inspectors in its fight against the illegal trade, which affects sectors from fashion retailing to automotive spare parts.
Last year 40 raids were conducted by Dubai Customs on onshore and free zone businesses suspected of dealing in imitations of well-known brands.
Dubai Customs director-general Ahmad Butti Ahmad said officials are seeking greater cooperation with their counterparts in the region and globally, including Interpol, to catch and punish those dealing in fake contraband goods.
"This is not your type of place. We will fight you and we will punish you heavily," Ahmad said in a warning to counterfeiters.
At the Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy held in Dubai in February, the emirate agreed with a number of countries on a set of measures against piracy.
Top counterfeit items
The transshipment of fake goods through free trade zones was found to be of "particular concern" and Congress participants recommended that "effective deterrent sanctions and incarceration be imposed where appropriate."
The Dubai Customs chief said the present laws in the UAE and other GCC countries are sufficient in dealimg with piracy cases and declared that they will be implemented in full force.
According to Yousuf Ozair Mubarak, a senior manager at the Intervention Department, fake goods worth Dh20 million were confiscated in Dubai last year.
Automotive parts, watches, fashion items such as handbags and sunglasses, medicines and computer software are among the top counterfeit items brought into the country.
The increasing sophistication of counterfeiters and growing online transactions are proving to be major challenges for Dubai officials.
"As we work hard to protect intellectual property rights, the mafia is getting more sophisticated. Everyday we discover something new.
"They come up with items that we thought they would never produce; they even make building materials," a Dubai Customs official said.
The copycat products from Eastern Asia also abuse Dubai's laissez-faire policies to push their trade.
"This is one of the issues. The facilities being given by the government to encourage legitimate businesses make it easier for counterfeit goods to enter the market. Most of the time they use Dubai as a transit point," the official said.
Do you know anyone who uses counterfeit products? Are they popular? If yes, why? How difficult is it for the authorities to take effective action considering the technological sophistication of counterfeiters today?
Your comments
A supermarket in Abu Dhabi openly sells pirated watches, while other shops in an Abu Dhabi shopping centre sell pirated PlayStations and many other games and gadgets openly. I do not think the government is serious enough about controlling piracy.
A.J.D.
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: May 20, 2008, 09:45
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