Interpipe registers trademark in UAE to combat counterfeiting
Fake products a significant challenge in region, Ukrainian company says
The Ukrainian steel-pipe manufacturer Interpipe has officially registered its trademark with the UAE Ministry of Economy, citing the need to combat counterfeiting in the region.
The company said in a press release that counterfeiting is a significant challenge, and that the registration represents its first step in its fight against fake products.
The GCC region accounts for over 16 percent of Interpipe’s global sales and the company has supplied steel pipes to the UAE market for more than 10 years. Among Interpipe’s key projects in the region are the King Abdulaziz International Airport and the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in KSA, the Mall of Qatar and the State Audit Bureau Headquarters in Qatar, as well as various residential and commercial buildings in the UAE.
According to Andrey Burtsev, Interpipe’s Vice-President of Pipe Sales in the Middle East and North Africa, approximately every third building in the UAE uses the company’s products and this popularity has given rise to a steady business in counterfeit pipes being passed off as Interpipe products.
“The depth of the counterfeit steel pipes industry in the UAE is unquantified, but its existence presents a significant challenge for us,” Burtsev said. The counterfeit products adversely affect Interpipe’s reputation for quality “because uncertified steel cannot be guaranteed for its integrity, strength or durability”, he said.
Burtsev added that the illegal practice not only affects the steel and steel pipes industry but the construction business as a whole.
“Interpipe products are well known in the UAE and this move to officially register our trademark is a positive step towards introducing an additional – and necessary – line of defence against the counterfeit industry,” he Burtsev.
