The UAE has signed an agreement with a regional group protecting their consumer brands to combat commercial fraud and counterfeiting in the country and the region as whole.
The Ministry of Economy yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Brand Owners Protection Group (BPG) for the GCC and Yemen, an alliance of consumer brand owners in the region, to exchange information and expertise in combating counterfeiting. BPG is a group of 20 companies based in the GCC and Yemen – the majority of them based in the UAE.
"This is a very important step that aims at protecting the interests of all the parties involved. It will accelerate our efforts to fight counterfeiting crime and protect intellectual property rights (IPR) in the country and region," Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Shihhi, Undersecretary at the Ministry, told Emirates Business after signing the MoU with Omar Shteiwi, Chairman of BPG GCC-Yemen.
When asked about the scale of counterfeiting impact on the economy, he said in 2006 alone, the UAE economy was affected by almost Dh10 billion losses caused by just counterfeiting. "However, we are putting every possible effort to cut down these losses and combat the menace. Our efforts have already shown the results and now those involved in the crime have either gone underground or have reduced their criminal activities. Now we don't see shops openly selling counterfeited or pirated products openly. So overall, I would say tremendous achievements have been made," Al Shihhi said.
The MoU, which was signed at the ministry's office in the UAE capital, outlines joint co-operation in the protection of IPR, commercial fraud and counterfeiting with particular focus. The ministry said the agreement, with its aim at promoting stronger partnership between the ministry and private sector represented by BPG, identifies co-operative mechanisms and co-ordinates efforts to protect copyright owners in the UAE and the region.
The pact aims at providing legal and technical support to the ministry's agencies and partners to implement IPR laws of the country.
BPG Chairman Shteiwi said: "We are eager to move forward in implementing the terms of this MoU, so that we can eradicate the malicious activities. We also look forward to exchanging experiences in IPR protection and forging better partnerships with public sector."