Counterfeit trade in the UAE has soared this year due to the economic crisis, and Dubai Customs has identified 176 cases of fake products entering the region in the last six months compared with 202 for the whole of 2008.
Most of the counterfeit goods that enter the UAE are automobile parts and pharmaceuticals, Khalid Babiker El Nour, a legal advisor at Dubai Customs, told Reuters on the sidelines at an industry conference.
“I believe the economic crisis might have caused the counterfeit market to become more active,'' he said.
The counterfeit goods market in the United Arab Emirates is estimated to be worth around $6.27 million, according to a 2006 study by the Brand Owners Protection Group (BPG), a Dubai-based non-profit organization that protects the rights of original brands in Gulf states.
“There are no official records of how big the counterfeit market is here, but I believe the economic crisis has cut the budgets of many consumers and has forced them to demand more counterfeit goods,'' said Omar Shteiwi, chairman of BPG.
“That's why we are possibly going to see more cases of counterfeit goods entering the country this year.''
On Tuesday, BPG signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC), Japan's International Intellectual Property Protection Forum (IIPPF) and the Dubai's Customs, to try and combat the problem.
