Hp Hosted Anti-Counterfeiting Conference In Africa

Hp Hosted Anti-Counterfeiting Conference In Africa
Stakeholders Join HP to Address Counterfeiting at Summit

HP has hosted the Anti-Counterfeiting Abuja Conference, to help fight against fake products and fraudulent marketing while protecting customers from being cheated by illegal scheming.

As a leader in the high tech industry sector, and a company that places a priority on protecting customers and its brand, HP raised awareness on the impact and consequences of counterfeit trade during the one-day summit.

 

Discussants at the summit made reference to various reports, which show that as the global trade in counterfeit goods is growing, Africa, particularly Nigeria is increasingly being targeted as a market for counterfeit merchandise. African nations are therefore becoming increasingly aware of challenges that counterfeit trade represents to their economies and their citizens, and becoming active in the fight against it.

Multinational and national companies, government officials, representatives of ministries responsible for anti-counterfeiting in education, trade, economy, health were among the participants at the summit.

“False goods impact businesses and global trade through lost revenue, damage to brands and the negative effects on hard-earned reputation and consumer confidence,” said Jeff Kwasny, Brand Protection Programme Manager for HP’s Printing and Personal Systems group.

“At the 2014 Anti-Counterfeiting Summit, Abuja, we brought together those most affected by counterfeits in the region – from policy makers to brands like Unilever, Evans and Microsoft – so we can work towards tackling this criminal activity together."

He added that original HP supplies distinguish themselves by their superior quality and reliability at competitive prices. “Authentic HP LaserJet and HP inkjet print cartridges, unlike counterfeits, benefit from a history of investment and testing to provide superior performance and consistent results,” he said.

A check on the activities of the global company towards addressing counterfeiting across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, over the last five years (2009 through 2013), indicated that HP has conducted around 1,600 investigations, resulting in about 1,300 enforcement actions (raids and seizures by authorities) and around 11 million units of counterfeit products and components seized, thus preventing them from being sold in the EMEA marketplace and beyond.

The Programme has also overseen around 4,000 unannounced inspections of HP products at the warehouses of HP Channel Partners across EMEA in the past five years (2009 through 2013), to verify that they are not selling counterfeit products to their customers.