HP anti-counterfeit expert touring EMEA region to underscore fight against fake printing supplies

An HP European anti-counterfeit expert recently embarked on a multinational tour of the EMEA region to address the stepped-up battle against fraudulent printing supplies.

Tina Rose, Anti-Counterfeit Manager for EMEA, spoke to journalists in Poland, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, and Morocco during a four-country roadshow in April.

While counterfeit printing cartridges for HP's LaserJet and Inkjet printers is a global issue, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa are areas where organised counterfeit activity is especially rampant.

“Counterfeiters and fraudulent traders frequently deceive customers into thinking they are buying genuine goods, with print cartridges either packed in copies of original HP boxes or in re-used original HP boxes,” says Rose. “Buyers of counterfeit print cartridges run several risks, ranging from substandard print quality to printer downtime due to damage by inferior counterfeit supplies.”

HP routinely co-operates with law-enforcement authorities across the region to identify and destroy fake printing supplies. Since late 2008, for example, local authorities in Africa have seized 150 681 counterfeits and components for illegal re-use in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. In addition, the authorities closed the premises, which the counterfeiters had used to manufacture and distribute fake products.

Since late 2006, HP has followed up almost 900 substantial leads on suspicious products all over EMEA, leading in almost 470 full investigations and around 250 raids in which around 3.5 million finished fake products and components intended for illegal re-use were seized.

Globally, from 2005-2008, HP conducted 4 620 investigations in 55 countries, resulting in 3 528 enforcement actions (raids and seizures by authorities) seizing a total value of more than $795 million worth of counterfeit HP supplies products. (Investigations and actions have occurred on every continent except Antarctica.)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates the annual value of international trade in counterfeit goods at $200 billion. The World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) believe that counterfeiting drains an estimated EUR 500 billion per year from the global economy, equivalent to the loss of about 5% to 8% of trade in brand-name goods worldwide, including the illegal trade in fake printing supplies. It is estimated that around 200 000 jobs are lost in Europe alone due to counterfeiting activities.