Emirates Customs seizes 923.7 thousand counterfeit items during 2020
The total number of counterfeit goods seized by the customs sector in the UAE during the past year amounted to 923,724 counterfeit items in 41 seizures, according to the Intellectual Property Rights Report for the year 2020 recently issued by the Federal Customs Authority.
The report classified the number of seizures in terms of means of transport, as it indicated that the percentage of seizures of counterfeit goods that were transported by sea transport out of the total seizures during the year amounted to 70.73%, followed by air transport seizures with 19.51%, land transport, parcels and express mail, 4.88% for each.
In statements to the Emirates News Agency, WAM, the Commissioner of Customs, Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, stressed that combating counterfeit goods and protecting intellectual property rights is one of the priorities of customs work in the country, as the efforts of the authority and local customs departments contribute to protecting society, consumers, brand owners and the private sector. From the security, economic, commercial and social damages resulting from the violation of intellectual property rights and the spread of counterfeit goods.
He praised the efforts made by the local customs administrations during the year 2020 in the field of protecting intellectual property rights and combating counterfeit goods, expressing his thanks and appreciation for those efforts that contributed to removing the name of the UAE from the watch list for the protection of American intellectual property, as stated in a recent report by the US State Department. This is done in cooperation and coordination with the ministries and relevant authorities in the country.
He said that during the current year, the authority launched the initiative to form a customs advisory council with the private sector to enhance the state's efforts in many fields, foremost of which is the protection of intellectual property rights and the exchange of information and expertise on trademarks that are infringed. It is expected that the growing coordination with official authorities and the private sector will lead to Increasing the level of compliance by traders and importers with the standards of protecting intellectual property rights during the coming period.
Al Neyadi indicated that the authority implements 17 agreements for technical cooperation and customs administrative assistance with the most prominent trading partners in the world with the aim of exchanging information and targeting illegal trade in goods within the framework of the international supply chain.
He pointed out that the country's customs sector held during the year 2020 several meetings with international partners such as the United States of America and the European Union to enhance cooperation and exchange best practices of enforcement of intellectual property rights, and more than 124 training activities were carried out to raise the capabilities of customs inspectors and workers in the field of intellectual property rights. Despite the repercussions of the Corona pandemic.
He explained that the authority and local customs departments take into account the environmental impact in dealing with seized counterfeit goods, noting that all seizures were destroyed and recycled in accordance with the approved environmental and customs standards in this regard, in the presence of representatives of the ministries of economy, health and environment, the media, owners of commercial relations and the public.
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