Real and Fake Toothpaste Products
Section One: The Product Profiles for Both Original and Fake Products
- Original Products (Colgate)
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American renowned company which deals with the manufacture of consumer goods such as soaps, washing detergents as well other oral products such Colgate. It is located in New York City, in the USA.
In the UAE, the price of Colgate goes for between 8 AED for a 125ml toothpaste.
I came across this product in the shopping malls in Dubai. This product is also common along small scale outlets in many shops across the city.
Part 2:
- Counterfeit Products(Gilchrist &Soames)
This counterfeit product was manufactured in China and was largely distributed to many countries in the world.
The Gilchrist &Soames toothpaste was sold at 7 AED before it was recalled after claims that it had contained poisonous substances.
I came across this product in one of the supermarkets in Dubai which looked quite impressive based on the material covering and the results which the manufacturers had indicated that it would help.
Gilchrist & Soames from China had engaged in the distribution of such products in hotels. This product was discovered to contain a poisonous chemical which is commonly used as an antifreeze in the automobile. The toothpaste was also found to contain diethylene glycol which destroys several parts of the body such as kidneys and liver as well as the nervous system.
The Gilchrist products infringe the intellectual property rights established in the UAE. One of the main reasons for this is because of the kind of chemicals used for the manufacture of such products are toxic and have been found to cause harm to the human body. The UAE intellectual property rights are very strict when it comes to the manufacture, distribution, sale and use of such products.
According to Article (4) 3, of the UAE Trademark Law insists that a famous trademark will not be acceptable for registration if it does not categorically provide any distinctions between a similarly registered product already in the market. In another way, the use of the trademark will be of help in order to ensure that it has distinct characteristics or features that are stand out from others. This is to ensure that the product and services are protected. In addition to that the Article provisions also indicate that the continuous use of the trademark may at times bring damaging interests to the original owner of that product or service.
The UAE has well framed rules regarding intellectual rights in high international standards. Both the local and customs authorities are made aware of the essence of ensuring that counterfeit goods are not allowed in the country. Similarly, they should be able to protect the registered brands and take legal action to any product that is found to have contravened the intellectual rights in the UAE.
This aspect has seen a lot of confident built towards investors since all the internationally accepted intellectual rights not only understood but also respected. For instance through the law, the UAE has seen established trademarks which have been certified with the Trade Mark Section in the relevant intellectual fields. The Patents and Utility Certificates of Industrial Property is also another arm which was founded under in order to provide an oversight in intellectual property ammeters in the region.
Section Three:
The Protection of Original Products from the Fake Products.
Many of the emirates states in the UAE have adopted measures which would see the importation of such harmful and counter feitproducts eliminated in the region. For instance, the Economic Dubai Development Department in Dubai has placed various measures to discourage this illegal activities. Some of this include fine of Dh 500, Dh 5,000 and Dh, 10,000 for the first, second and third violations of illegal importation.
The existing laws on Protection of Industrial Ownership of Patents, Designs and Industrial Prototypes in the UAE are found in the laws drawn from the Federal Law No. 44 of 1992. It acts a protective unit which ensures that companies, individuals and other trademarks holders are protected from any violation of their intellectual property. It is wrong for anyone to engage in such malpractices and this cause them to be fined or even imprisoned by a court of law.
In the case of the manufacture of Gilchrist &Soames toothpaste products, it was clear that the use and sale of counterfeits products is a rampant activity which goes on in the world. Most of the products were already in use in most nations and the side effects of such use quite high. Colgate has distanced itself from such counterfeits which and declared that it had not connection whatsoever with them. Manufactures of original products have a duty to play when it come eradicating of counterfeit products in the market. One role which Colgate has done is to help in the identification of counterfeit products as well as their distributors. A toll free number was also released so that consumers could report such incidence involving fake products within the market.