RIYADH: The Ministry of Trade and Investment and the General Administration of Sports (GAS) launched a joint campaign in the last two weeks against fake sports products that have proliferated in the local market.
“Different teams were dispatched to various regions in the Kingdom and they monitored more than 558 shops committing commercial offenses,” an online report said.
They seized 71,157 counterfeit items during their raids on various shops suspected of selling and hiding counterfeit sports products.
“The teams fanned out across the Kingdom to prevent the acquisition, display and sale of counterfeit products for different local sports clubs, and save and protect their rights in accordance with trademarks,” the report said.
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment summoned the errant shop owners and informed them of their various offenses. They are to be prosecuted under statutory procedures for the violation of intellectual property rights.
The ministry and GAS also called on all sports clubs to register their brands so that they could be protected under the law against imitators and to safeguard their rights.
Both the ministry and GAS stressed their determination to continue efforts to ensure the preservation of brands of sport clubs in the Kingdom.
“Dealing in counterfeit products is going against the commercial laws of the Kingdom. It’s specifically going against the law on intellectual property,” the report said.
It added that the ministry and GAS will continue to take legal action against anyone proven to be involved in the storage, distribution and sale of counterfeit products.
They also called on all sports products customers to report complaints to the communications center at the ministry on 1900.
71,157 fake sports goods confiscated
71,157 fake sports goods confiscated
