Earlier this month over a million items of counterfeit goods worth some Dh17 million were nabbed by the Dubai Economic Department at a warehouse. The fake goods included weight loss drugs, performance enhancers and cosmetics.
Since the UAE Intellectual Property law was implemented in the early 90s inspections and confiscation of this kind are a regular occurrence.
From someone who is a strong advocate of protecting one’s Intellectual Property Rights, I must admit that this was most welcome for every legitimate business owner, manufacturer and creator of Intellectual Properties.
In fact, shops and warehouses are routinely under surveillance, sometimes with DED officials carrying out surprise inspections. These are the most effective kind in that they give the vendor of the fake goods little or no chance to escape or discard his wares.
But manufacturing processes for fake goods have become so advanced that sometimes inspectors have a hard time spotting them. One such incident occurred some years ago in the UK when a consignment of Louis Vuitton handbags landed at London’s Heathrow Airport. The bags were so well made that the inspectors could not tell if they were in fact real or not. Ultimately they had to call in Louis Vuitton officials to verify they were fake.
Manufactured goods are not the only Intellectual Property that need protecting. There are designs on paper, literary works and, of course, names and logos that can be infringed.
A few years ago I had a bit of a problem with an advertising agency in the UAE. The agency representative asked me to write a specific article (a profile of the producer of the movie The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan) that was going to be published for the in-flight magazine of their client, an airline. Now, the representative who had asked me to write this piece, was also contributing to the same issue of the magazine with an article about a jazz musician. A couple of months later I got a bit of an unpleasant surprise when I saw my article. It had been published verbatim — but without a byline. When I questioned the rep about it, I was even more surprised at his response. He said that this magazine did not publish bylines. Why was I surprised? His jazz article had also been published but HIS name appeared above his article, so what he told me was untrue. I took this no further and put it down to experience.
The point I’m making is that creating fake copies of bags and clothes etc is not the only way that Intellectual Property can be infringed. As in my case, not attributing someone’s work to them, whether deliberately or not, is also an infringement of their article and, thus, actionable.
Where fake goods are concerned, some people might argue, so what? At least they get the chance to sport what look like expensive brands but are more affordable to their wallets. Where is the harm? After all, big names are not going to lose that much by a few fakes floating around when they make so much money?
It’s not about that. Whether it’s a loss of one dirham or a thousand, it’s the principle. A lot of resources go into producing an item and putting it on the market. They include labour, material, time, advertising, packaging, export and creativity. All of these can be translated into cash spent during and after production.
When a business is harmed in this way, so too is the economy of the country into which the fake items are subsequently imported.
Most fakes are of a substandard production. The quality of the material that goes into producing them is lower. That’s why these fakes are cheaper. Unfortunately, sometimes these reproductions look so real that it’s difficult to realise they are fake. Then when they start underperforming people think it was a real brand thereby damaging the reputation of the owners of the original brand.
Sometimes fakes can accidentally end up on retailers’ shelves. If this happens too frequently, people begin associating that retailer with selling duff items.
And of course, the consumer loses too. If you knowingly buy something that is a fake, a copy, a counterfeit thinking it’s cheaper but with the big brand label, beware that it may not last long thus forcing you to spend money on the real deal later on.
So, for the sake of your family’s health and your pocket always be vigilant and know what you are buying.
For example, if they are medical items or cosmetics, always purchase (a) from a government authorised pharmacy or a reputable retailer and (b) the original. Not doing so could pose a health risk to you and your family.
So, here are some tell-tale signs that you should look out for when buying anything:
1.The seller asks you to meet him round the back, maybe to the boot of his car.
2. The price is unbelievably low for the brand.
3. The seller claims that they are originals but were discarded by the manufacturer because of minor faults during the manufacturing process (Might apply to clothes).
4. The colouring is off
5. The stitching isn’t perfect in some places
5. The label is clumsily sewn in
The list can go on.
In copyright circles in the UK, there is an often used phrase: ‘Respect Copyright, Encourage Creativity.’ If someone’s work is kept being copied to his financial detriment, would they bother creating more? No. Then we’d all be the losers.
