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

Lukas Drlik, Regional Security Manager and ACF Programme Investigations Manager for EMEA region, will be in Riyadh and Jeddah this week to address key customers, local authorities and resellers in the Kingdom.

While counterfeit printing supplies for HP's LaserJet, Color LaserJet and Inkjet printers is a global issue, the Middle East and Africa are areas where organized counterfeit activity is especially rampant. In 2009 alone, local authorities in Saudi Arabia sized 712,142 pieces of fraudulent printing supplies.

"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 reused original HP boxes. Buyers of counterfeit print cartridges run several risks, ranging from substandard print quality to printer downtime due to damage by inferior counterfeit supplies."

Lukas Drlik said.

HP routinely cooperates with law-enforcement authorities across the region to identify and destroy fake printing supplies. During HP's 2009 fiscal year (1 November 2008 through 31 October 2009), HP's cooperation with local authorities in Europe, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Africa (EMEA), for example, led to the seizure of nearly 2 million counterfeits and components intended for illegal reuse, more than twice the number of items confiscated during the previous year.

HP's overall track record for EMEA during fiscal years 2007-2009 (1 November 2006 through 31 October 2009) includes 5.9 million seized counterfeits and components, more than 1,500 substantial leads, close to 850 investigations and around 550 enforcement actions.

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 $795m worth of counterfeit HP supplies products. (Investigations and actions have occurred on every continent except Antarctica.)

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates the annual value of international trade in counterfeit goods at $200bn. The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) believe that counterfeiting drains an estimated EUR500bn per year from the global economy, equivalent to the loss of about 5-8% 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.

During HP's 2009 fiscal year, local authorities in the Middle East seized more than 1,570,000 ready-for-sale counterfeits and components for illegal reuse. Major raids took place in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.