Over 63 campaigns in collaboration with the Department of Anti-Economic Crime at Dubai Police to combat intellectual property rights violations
Consumer Protection Department meets with suppliers and traders to introduce them to efficient and transparent complaint-handling mechanisms
Dubai, United Arab Emirates-: Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade (DCCPFT), a part of Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), carried out an extensive series of field and monitoring tours to Dubai markets and commercial establishments in Q1 2024. The initiative bolstered DCCPFT’s ongoing awareness campaign to highlight the rights and responsibilities of traders and consumers, ensuring a fair experience for all, and ultimately promoting competitiveness within the business sector in Dubai.
These tours were undertaken to maintain market stability, in line with the wise leadership’s vision of positioning Dubai as the best city to visit, live and work in, under the ambitious Dubai’s Economic Agenda, D33, which aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy and further consolidate Dubai’s status as one of the top three global cities over the next decade.
Officials from the Consumer Protection Department of DCCPFT met traders and consumers during 232 tours, focusing on high-footfall destinations, especially during Ramadan. These destinations included food markets, retail outlets, beauty stores and tailoring shops. Officials urged traders to prominently display the consumer protection number and contact phone numbers for customer complaints, ensuring a convenient and seamless customer feedback process. During these tours, the Consumer Protection Department held meetings with several suppliers and outlet officials, emphasising the importance of transparently managing consumer complaints and handling them efficiently and responsibly.
Meanwhile, the Intellectual Property Protection Department (IPP) of DCCPFT continued its monitoring tours to ensure the protection of local and international intellectual property rights , partly in response to requests from brand owners and commercial agencies. Such visits fall under the Department’s regular monitoring campaigns to address the concerns of traders and consumers alike. During Q1 2024, the IPP Department received 199 requests related to registered trademarks, eight of which were from commercial agencies and required cooperation with the Ministry of Economy in order to be dealt with effectively.
Furthermore, the Department regularly coordinated with other government entities to carry out campaigns to ensure IP rights are not being violated by all traders in the emirate and take the necessary action if needed. During Q1 of this year, 63 campaigns were carried out in collaboration with the Department of Anti-Economic Crime at Dubai Police. Looking ahead, the Department intends to intensify such campaigns in cooperation with Dubai Police to monitor apartments that could be used to sell counterfeit goods. Such practices violate the law and expose consumers to danger when visiting these places.
Commenting on these efforts, Mohammed Shael Al Saadi, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Fair Trade and Consumer Protection, said: “DCCPFT is committed to conducting field tours to protect the rights of traders and consumers, as well as responding to consumer complaints and raising their awareness of their rights and obligations. In addition to regulating local markets to ensure a level playing field, fairness, equality, healthy competition and consumer protection, we are also committed to protecting intellectual property rights, while educating the business sector on the importance of registering and protecting these rights. Our efforts underline Dubai’s reputation as a safe market for international brands to operate and grow in, and one where consumers can confidently enjoy their retail experience.”
Al Saadi also emphasised DCCPFT’s focus on maintaining market stability, aligned with the vision of the wise leadership, and the goals of the D33 Agenda. “We call on consumers to report any commercial violations promptly and encourage business owners to protect and register their intellectual rights to avoid any future violations or legal liabilities,” explained Al Saaadi.
The IPP Department regularly organises programmes and initiatives to educate traders about their rights and obligations under relevant intellectual property laws. Continuous emphasis is also placed on avoiding malpractices, such as selling counterfeit products of certain international brands. Such initiatives are intended to optimise commercial control operations and facilitate market oversight across all economic sectors and fields.
The IPP Department also successfully carried out many monitoring tours during Q1 2024, covering over 10,000 commercial establishments, protecting the rights of local and international brands with ongoing workshops with their representatives, to ensure their IP files with DCCPFT are always up to date and their rights are protected.
Furthermore, the Consumer Protection Department’s field visits covered many locations and markets across Dubai, including the Waterfront Market, the Fruit and Vegetable Market in Al Warsan, the Union Coop at Etihad Mall, Carrefour City Centre Mirdif, Spinneys Jumeirah Branch, as well as the spice, textile and gold souks. The visits were aimed at ensuring retail outlets were prepared to meet high demand and maintain consistency between prices on display inside the outlet and prices at checkout counters.
