By Emmanuel Elebeke

IN realization of the drive to rid Nigeria of fake and counterfeited technology products, Hewlet Packard (HP) has deployed a number of measures to ensure that its customers receive only authentic HP printing supplies.

Speaking on the technology, the Channel Development Manager, HP English Speaking Africa, Ms. Rita Amuchienwa, said the innovation was to protect HP customers against counterfeit goods.

She said that HP has always taken the issue of piracy to mind and would continue the awareness on how the customers could easily identify fake products at points of purchase and as well as eradicate it totally.

According to her, Nigeria is home to the highest number of African businesses that have either been offered or unintentionally purchased counterfeit cartridges, as cited by 50 per cent of business survey respondents, saying that printer failure was reported as the primary concern when buying printing supplies.

She noted that the negative impact of counterfeiting to any economy can be underestimated, adding that the activities of the supplies in Nigeria are increasingly undermining legitimate business standards and practices in the country and defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians.

In furtheranceof  this fight against counterfeits, the HP manager disclosed that the company had spent over 5 billion euros globally for research and development and as such, strategies have been constantly evolved on the change in logos and emblems of the products package.

She added that the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and the Customs are regularly trained on the detection of counterfeited products at the point of entry into the country and point of sales.

“HP is dedicated to ensuring that customers are able to identify counterfeit inkjet and LaserJet cartridges, protecting them from unreliable and compromised print quality, both prior to and after purchase. We are happy to share that HP’s Mobile Authentication technology is now widely available for Original HP LaserJet cartridges in Nigeria. Customers can now verify the authenticity of their cartridge using HP Mobile Authentication to check the security labels of both inkjet and LaserJet toner cartridges,” she added.

She also said that HP gives enticing benefit packages and trainings to its partners, stressing that any partner caught in such deal is delisted from its partners, while advising customers to report sale of counterfeited products to HP for appropriate sanctions.