KUWAIT: The ministry of commerce and industry has given merchants selling counterfeit goods three weeks' notice to remove such products off the market and take advantage of the deadline set by the ministry to avoid legal violations and expropriation of goods. The move is part of the ministry's extensive campaign to eliminate fake goods in Kuwait.
It said these goods are negatively affecting the economy because of their popularity and cheap prices. They are also affecting the environment of the country and could harm consumers' health, pointing out that many official scientific studies have confirmed negative medical effects threatening consumers' health because of the use of fake cosmetic products that mostly contain poor quality ingredients.


The campaign is monitoring the market for any abnormalities. It is monitoring the commercial sector for selling fake items like clothes, shoes and bags. It is also monitoring the information technology sector such as software programs, computer spare parts and other fake products found in the market. The ministry has also notified printing businesses and centers not to print slogans, signs, symbols and logos to protect the authorship of copyrights and intellectual property from abuse.


The ministry of commerce and industry aims to protect companies and consumers from commercial fraud and piracy, which poses a great national economic risk. The ministry is applying its authority to protect both the market and the consumer from the dangers of counterfeit goods, reminding of the fact that piracy and selling fake products is a crime penalized by law.