RIYADH — HP hosted a local event in Saudi Arabia to help raise awareness of counterfeit and fraudulent activity in the region.

Across EMEA over the last five years (2013-2017), approximately 13 million counterfeits and components have been seized by local authorities, closely supported by HP. In addition, HP has conducted over 5,300 audits and inspections (CPPAs and CDIs) of partners’ stocks or suspicious deliveries for customers, and that number is rising year-on-year. According to estimates from the anti-piracy consortium Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the yearly global economic and social impact of counterfeiting and piracy is expected to reach up to $4.7 trillion by 2022.

The event included a The live experiment is showing original HP tonners against compatibles, as well as a presentation from HP on how they are working with local authorities to fight against the manufacturers of counterfeit and fraudulent print products in the region.

At the event, HP was supported by local spokespeople from the Saudi Ministry of Commerce, the United States Patent & Trademark Office and Saudi Customs.

“Taking action against the growing issue of counterfeiting in the Middle East is of huge importance to HP. We are continuing to focus on the protection of customers through our Anti Counterfeiting and Fraud Programme,” said by Narayanan Venkataraman (KV), Managing Director of HP Saudi Arabia. “The number of seizures in the Middle East is continuing to rise, so we are working closely with our partners in the region to combat this growing issue through Channel Partner Protection Audits and Customer Delivery Inspections.”

Over the past year, HP has been working closely with local authorities in both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to dismantle counterfeiting rings and criminal syndicates involved in the manufacture and sale of counterfeit print supplies.

HP regularly conducts free expert checks of suspicious printing supplies deliveries for corporate customers throughout the Middle East. These Customer Delivery Inspections (CDIs) protect customers that think they might have received counterfeit cartridges – in fact, around two in three shipments inspected in 2017 in the Middle East turned out to contain illicit products. These inspections thus protected numerous valued customers from risky fakes.

Through HP’s Anti Counterfeiting and Fraud (ACF) Programme, the company actively educates its customers and partners to be vigilant against fake printing supplies. It also cooperates closely with local and global law enforcement authorities to detect and dismantle illegal operations that produce counterfeit HP printing components. — SG