Dubai cleared of 20m fakes in 2018
dubai — Dubai authorities confiscated nearly 20 million counterfeit items worth Dh332 million last year. The seized items included handbags, cosmetics, sunglasses and perfumes, the Department of Economic Development (DED) said on Tuesday.
The hotspot for the most fake items continues to be the Karama market, where thousands of goods including duplicate items of Prada, Dior, Chanel and other luxury brands are sold to consumers.
Jama Abdulla Alfalasi, manager of intellectual property disputes unit at the Dubai Economy, told Khaleej
Times that cosmetics topped the list of fake items seized at 4.9 million pieces worth Dh88.3 million.
Cans and other packaging material ranked second, with 3.3 million pieces valued at Dh21.4million. In terms of monetary value, phones and accessories ranked first at Dh98 million, followed by cosmetics and watches.
“We receive complaints from brand owners and legal firms on behalf of the brand owners if they find something out in the market,” Alfalasi said. “When we cannot differentiate between real or fake, we depend on a report from the mother company stating that (a particular) product is counterfeit. When it comes to other products, it could even be commercial fraud. When we check their houses, we find these items are expired or the country of origin is false... In general, Karama is a hotspot.”
Inspectors also carry out raids at houses, villas and shops that may be selling counterfeit products. In one raid last year, authorities had seized over 7,000 items.
A total of 289 cases received by the DED were from trademark owners and 41 involved commercial agencies. About 57 of the trademark-related cases were from the US, 49 from the UAE, 44 from France, 40 from Switzerland, 24 from Germany, 18 from Japan and 11 from Italy.
Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, CEO of CCCP, said: “The Department of Economic Development strives to ensure economic activity in Dubai is free and fair while also safeguarding consumer rights as
When we cannot differentiate between real or fake, we depend on a report from the mother company stating that (a particular) product is counterfeit.”
Jama Abdulla Alfalasi, manager, intellectual property disputes unit, Dubai Economy
well as intellectual property rights. We are pleased with our achievements in 2018 as it confirms our role in maintaining round-theclock vigil by way of investigation, field visits and random searches to
detect counterfeit products and seize them. We also seek co-operation from trademark owners and law firms in our efforts.”
The authority’s Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection
(CCCP) sector also displayed how they destroy the counterfeit products, where fake sunglasses and handbags were inserted into a giant shredder. During a media tour of the warehouse where seized
fakes are stored, the department showcased items such as auto parts, clothing, electrical equipment, plumbing material laundry detergent and skincare products.