The Brand Owners Protection Group (BPG) has revealed its law enforcement training programme designed to identify counterfeit materials and protect intellectual property rights (IPR).

Beginning this month, BPG, in partnership with various government bodies, will roll out a series of training workshops that encompass important locations in the UAE.

Set to stage a series of monthly workshops that will equip the UAE’s law enforcement officials from various authorities with the essential skills to detect and control items that violate IPR from February to June, BPG will gather law enforcement officials in Sharjah to its first seminar for 2009 on February 26 in cooperation with the Sharjah Customs.

On March 4, the group, in cooperation with Diba Al-Hesn Municipality, will convene law enforcement authorities in the Northern zone of the country, catering to areas such as Al-Fujairah, Diba and Kalbaa. 

Meanwhile, BPG will collaborate with Dubai Customs to train its officials including other officials from other states within the GCC region through as series of seminars starting from April 26.

Continuing the second quarter of 2009, BPG and the UAE Ministry of Economy will jointly present a workshop on May 12 for the benefit of law enforcement units in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and the Western zone of the UAE. Yet another seminar will take place at the Sharjah Custom’s division in Khorfakkan on June 25, and BPG will finish its circuit with its last stop at Dubai Customs in November.

“The series of workshops will instill in local law enforcement officials more awareness on all forms of violation against IPRs,” said Omar Shteiwi, chairman of the board at BPG and regional intellectual property advisor for Nestlé Middle East. “This campaign effectively demonstrates our commitment to enhancing the protection of IPRs and defending our local and regional economy from the threats of counterfeit merchandise.”

Focused on the protection of IPR and how to intelligently distinguish between original and counterfeited products, workshops organised by BPG will be attended by a large number of government officials, authorised to inspect the country’s markets and ports of entry and represent law enforcement authorities from all over the UAE such as the departments of economic development, customs, police, municipalities, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Health.

Following a number of memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed with key government units across the UAE, BPG is mandated to provide training and technical support to officials to facilitate the protection of the IPR of these BPG members.  As a result of the MoU, a cooperation mechanism has been initiated to eliminate counterfeit products which seriously challenge the local economy.

Such products have become a serious threat following a liberalised trade regime and exposure to other international markets which do not have a proper system to protect intellectual property rights. – TradeArabia News Service