Law enforcement officials must ensure that seized counterfeits are fully destroyed and not re-exported from the port of seizure if there has to be an end to the problem of counterfeit goods, a top official of the non-profit Brand Owners Protection Group (BPG) says.

BPG chairman Omar Shteiwi, who is also regional intellectual property advisor for Nestlé Middle East, said: “Re-exportation of counterfeit goods from the port of seizure will not solve the problem of counterfeiting.  It will only shift or relocate it to another market because the phenomenon is of a global scale.”
He was speaking at the IPR seminar for the Mena region on “Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy.” 
The event was organised by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), the UAE Federal Customs Authority and the Regional Office for Capacity Building (North Africa and Near & Middle East) and held at the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai in early May.
Shteiwi also underscored the importance of creating a new entity under the umbrella of the WCO whose function would be coordination of intelligence between the WCO, local customs authorities and brand owners. He called for transparency between brand owners and law enforcers and exchange of information between the two in order to facilitate legal proceedings against violators. It was important to institute agreements between the authorities and the brands’ rightful owners to maintain co-operation.
BPG members, including a number of UAE-based multinational companies, discussed strategic anti-counterfeiting initiatives with customs officials and federal authorities. 
A number of BPG members such as Beiersdorf, BAT, Daimler, GlaxoSmithKline, Nestle and Nokia contributed to the seminar as speakers and emphasised the great importance of fostering a solid relationship between the private business sector and customs authorities in winning the battle against counterfeiting. The BPG members shared their experience and knowledge on tackling counterfeits in different sectors such as FMCG, automotive, tobacco, electronics and pharmaceuticals and highlighted the importance of protecting consumers worldwide from counterfeited products especially pharmaceuticals and food which posed a threat to public health.