MARCH 2008
How to deal with the Gulf's IP challenges
Last month Dubai hosted the Fourth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting. Managing IP and Rouse & Co organized a roundtable to discuss how the issues raised affect IP owners in the region
| One-minute read |
The Gulf states, and the United Arab Emirates in particular, are home to some of the world's busiest ports and most dynamic economies. But while the free trade zones in the region help companies ship their goods around the world quickly and efficiently, they create big headaches for IP counsel and Customs officials trying to stem the trade in fakes. Dubai alone, for example, sees 11 million containers pass through its ports each year. So how should the authorities tackle the IP challenges raised by transshipment, and what can IP owners do to help?
Managing IP and Rouse & Co hosted a roundtable in Dubai following the three-day Fourth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy and asked local IP officials and brand owners from both multinational and home-grown companies to discuss transshipment, counterfeiting and best practices for managing your IP in the region. |
EB: Transshipment can cause IP owners a lot of problems. Bassel, would you explain what transshipment means and why it is of particular importance to IP owners, especially in the UAE?
BT: Transshipment is when a trader actually imports a product but he doesn't get the product into the country, so it just passes through a free zone and it is shipped again or exported again to another country. It happens a lot, especially in Dubai, because it's a hub for the Middle East.
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