In the first half of 2017, Dubai Customs conducted 133 seizures of goods worth up to AED72.584 million that were found to have infringed intellectual property rights (IPR).

Dubai Customs has firmly acted against IPR infringements to protect the society and the economy from counterfeit goods, and to support a competitive investment environment in Dubai by enabling producers to avoid losses arising from brand imitations.

The seized goods included electronic items, watches, glasses, clothing, fabrics, perfumes and cosmetics, as well as medicines and medical equipment, tires, auto spare parts, telephones and accessories, and computers and other imports.

Yousef Ozair Mubarak, Director of IPR Department, said, "Intellectual property rights protection gains importance in the evolution of our national economy in the current stage, particularly with the UAE focussing on unleashing the spirit of creativity and innovation in government work and in society at large."

"Accordingly, we put the protection of intellectual property rights on top of our priorities at Dubai Customs, and are working to improve the level of our performance in dealing with counterfeit goods, by providing the best levels of training to the staff and inspectors in the circuit, so as to enable them to detect counterfeiting and piracy efficiently, backed by the best innovations and technologies in the control and inspection field," he added.

Ozair pointed out that Dubai Customs equips its centres with the most advanced inspection equipment to efficiently guarantee the best results in controlling and seizing counterfeit products.

"We also co-operate with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and with other relevant authorities to co-ordinate efforts against counterfeiting," he revealed.

Source: Wam