The enforcement authorities for anti-counterfeiting in the United Arab Emirates along with our team from ATB Intellectual Property, conducted a massive 8-hour raid action on April 3, 2023, against a notorious auto parts dealer in UAE, which led to a total seizure of approximately 14,000 pieces of counterfeit auto spare parts.
The inspection commenced at 9:30 pm at a warehouse full of unopened and well-packed cartons of various counterfeit products, most of which are European and American brands. Goods found during the raid action include valves, clutch discs, brake pads, turbochargers, sealants and sealing compounds, gasket sets, piston kits, and the likes.
Moreover, due to the enormous quantities of counterfeit auto parts products which were seized during the raid action, two forklifts, five 10-ton trucks, four 3-ton trucks and 6 labourers were required to remove and transport the goods out from the trader’s premises for its official seizure to the warehouse rented by the UAE authorities which will be moved later on for destruction. The inspection concluded at 5am the following day and the facility was accordingly sealed by the authority officials.
The trader’s activities constitute a violation of the brand owners’ rights under the prevailing laws in the UAE, mainly Articles 50-51 Pursuant to Federal Decree Law Number 36 of 2021 on Trademarks, such activity constitutes a breach of the Federal Law No. 4 of 1979 on Prevention of Fraud and Deception in Commercial dealings and the Ministerial Decision No. 27 of 1987 thereof, and Article 83 of the UAE Federal Penal Law No. 31 of 2021. Fines will be imposed on the trader and the counterfeit seizure will be accordingly destroyed at his expense. In case the trader is a repeat offender, he may face temporary closure of business.
Further, it is crucial to understand the importance for consumers not to buy counterfeit products, most especially safety-related ones such as auto spare parts, as this could lead to road accidents or worse, casualties. Brand owners in the automotive industry mostly have zero tolerance against counterfeiters due to this reason. Thus, companies whose products were involved in the raid action did not hesitate to take action against the trader to ensure that penalties shall be duly imposed, future illicit activities shall be ceased and desisted, and strong warning shall be conveyed among the traders in the market that brand owners as well as the UAE enforcement authorities condemn counterfeiting activities in the country.
The brand owners showed gratitude and recognition to the UAE enforcement authorities for the continuous support in protecting their IP rights, and also to our team for relentlessly monitoring the suspicious movements of the trader for months to finally conduct the raid action and to put an end of the violator’s illicit activities. It is important to emphasize that the raid action was conducted at an odd hour during Ramadan where most authority officials and ATB members are fasting during the day. Indeed, there is no limit to the time and day where an enforcement action is an absolute necessity.
by Ginfel Rose Talip