"Dubai Economy and Apple have a long history of joint campaigns aimed at tackling commercial fraud and counterfeiting."
Officials from Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection sector honoured for their efforts in tackling counterfeiting and fraud.
Published: Tue 11 Apr 2017, 2:09 PM
Last updated: Tue 11 Apr 2017, 4:20 PM
The vital role played by the Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy in protecting intellectual property (IP) has won praise from tech giant Apple Inc.
Ed Wilkie, Apple Senior Intellectual Property Legal counsel for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa recently honoured officials and Intellectual Property Rights Protection inspectors from CCCP for their efforts and professionalism displayed in protecting the Apple brand and in combatting commercial fraud and counterfeiting.
Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah, CEO of CCCP, also received a message from Scott Gelin, Director, IP Enforcement (Global) at Apple Inc. praising the efforts and commitment of Dubai Economy in ensuring commercial compliance and consumer protection. The role of IP protection in sustainable economic development and the negative health impacts of counterfeit goods were mentioned prominently in the message.
"Apple Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of consumer electronics and computer software products. It has a major market share in Dubai and the UAE, which is also home to the first two Apple Stores in the Middle East," commented Lootah.
"Dubai Economy and Apple have a long history of joint campaigns aimed at tackling commercial fraud and counterfeiting. The recognition that CCCP has now received from Apple is a demonstration of our continuing co-operation in eliminating threats facing traders as well as consumers."
Lootah added that Dubai Economy will continue its efforts to enhance happiness and satisfaction among businesses and investors through improved services and stronger IP protection, which he said will also raise the emirate's profile as a regional and global commercial hub.
Ibrahim Behzad, Director of the Intellectual Property Rights Protection in Dubai Economy, said: "We are delighted to be honoured by Apple, which confirms our keenness to support businesses in the emirate by investigating the phenomenon of counterfeiting as well as confiscating and destroying counterfeit goods thus eliminating the risk of financial loss as well as health hazards."
Behzad added that CCCP maintains round-the-clock vigil to protect intellectual property and conducts random inspections, field visits and investigation to detect counterfeits.
"Our team collaborates with public and private sector partners and conducts awareness campaigns among traders to alert them on the dangers of counterfeiting. We also urge businesses and investors to register their brands to guard against any infringement and we participate in seminars to introduce the role and mandate of the Department of Economic Development in ensuring commercial compliance and consumer protection," Behzad said.
Behzad also called on consumers not to fall prey to unscrupulous merchants and their offers of discounted prices on counterfeits.
Counterfeits have various drawbacks compared to the original in terms of utility and durability and often prove to be harmful to human health as well as the environment.
Consumers can report any such harmful practices that come to their attention to the Ahlan Dubai number 600 54 5555 or through Twitter hashtag @Dubai_consumers.
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