Joining global efforts to combat commercial piracy operations, the Jeddah-based Hemaya Universal recently organized an awareness program dubbed ‘Commercial Piracy, Crime of the Century' for the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) staff in Jeddah. Fake brands have increasingly infiltrated the local market through trafficking operations with closer ties to organized crime. With a high rate of inflation that has hit to a new high of about 10 percent, Pirated products distributors have found their business thriving with products that closely resemble legit products. But it comes with a price, quality. Saudi culture has entrenched a long-standing tradition that quality shows if the price is right. But with criminal enterprises involved in trade, efforts at the highest level are under way to reclaim the integrity of the market by combating counterfeit products. Earlier this year, the Council of Ministers approved the formation of an association for consumer protection. “The Association for Consumer Protection will take care of the affairs and interests of consumers. It will also protect and defend their rights,” the Cabinet said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. It added that the Association will also take up the issues of consumers at public and private agencies and protect them from all types of trade fraud, imitation products and other deceitful practices and excessive prices. The awareness program that Hemaya Universal designed for the SEC was a drop in the bucket to stir the stagnant water of the pirate products market ahead of the First Arab Consumer Brand Protection Forum scheduled to be held in Jeddah on Oct. 19-21, of which it is a partner. Hemaya (or protection in Arabic), has strived to recapture the marketplace from counterfeited and pirated products and to raise public awareness of the threat these products pose to the safety of society. During the program presented to the SEC staff, Hemaya Universal spelled the game of counterfeit products, showing how to detect them. Some are no-brainer to detect like hygienic, food, cosmetic, electronic and electrical products. But some need an expert's eyes and hands to avoid harmful consequences. Tariq Mabbar briefed SEC staff on other counterfeit products that can only be detected by trained inspectors and scientific testing. “Inaccurate reads and stats provided by counterfeit medical devices for diabetes and hypertension have caused deaths,” said Tariq Mabbar, Hemaya Universal training manager, during his training session of the SEC staff. The SEC may need to double check on its electricity meters for accurate reads, a participant said in jest. The audience was informed about physical damages counterfeited cosmetics and leather products might cause to consumers. “This program is part of an overall plan to trim down risks of counterfeited products and contain their spiraling spread across the nation,” said Abdulaziz Bin Othaimeen, director of the executive committee of Hemaya Universal. __
