Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, inaugurated The First Arab Consumer and Brand Protection Forum at the Jeddah Hilton, Sunday night. The three-day forum, aimed at discussing the growing problem of counterfeit goods brought both Arab and International experts to Jeddah, such as representatives from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said having the forum will allow for a stronger stand on commercial counterfeiting in the Kingdom. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has realized the dangers of this phenomenon which has spread world-wide. As a result, The Consumer Protection Association has been created to monitor the market and educate the public,” Prince Khlaed said. Abdul Aziz Bin Othaimeen, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Partner in International Protection (Hemaya) Company said that 50 percent of the products of well-known international brands in 42 sectors of the Saudi market are counterfeit. He said 32 percent of spare parts are counterfeited, fake cosmetics reach as high as 40 percent and counterfeit foodstuffs reach 50 percent. “Commercial fraud on the global market has been estimated to exceed $780 billion annually of which $50 billion is incurred by Arab countries, $13 billion by Gulf countries and $5 billion by the Saudi market.” Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Saudi Minister of Finance said the forum is an example of the fight against counterfeiting by the public and private sector in collaboration with international agencies. He said the problem is a side effect of globalization. “These counterfeited goods are a risk to consumer health and safety because many of the fake goods are medicines, electronics, spare parts and tires,” Al-Assaf added. Four workshops will take place during the three-day forum. The first “Scope of the Global Challenge in Combating Trade in Counterfeits,” conducted by Todd Reeves, from the Office of Intellectual Property Policy and Enforcement, United States Patent and Trademark Office. “Building a Case for Criminal Prosecution in Counterfeit Goods Cases,” conducted by Mohamed Shaltout, Intellectual Property Specialist, US Embassy Cairo. “Collaboration between Customs Authorities & the Private Sector,” with CISCO Brand Protection Manager, Mike Watson as a speaker. The fourth and final workshop titled “Features of Development and Modernization of Customs in Saudi Arabia,” with Rashid Abdullah and Ibrahim Moussa as the speakers. __
