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HP Middle East receives support for its Anti-counterfeit Campaign from Dubai Internet City

Dubai, UAE, 17 May 2010 - HP Middle East today announced Dubai Internet City's (DIC) support of HP 's anti-counterfeit campaign in the UAE. HP Middle East and DIC will work together to raise awareness of the implications and dangers posed by counterfeit printing supplies, and highlight the benefits of using Original HP products.

HP and DIC will promote awareness on the issues that can be faced by using counterfeit printing supplies, as well as educate users and sellers on how to identify and report counterfeit HP supplies. The campaign will also encourage environmental responsibility, as counterfeit supplies cause poor print quality which generates wasted paper because customers are forced to print extra copies of documents.

"We believe in the strength of HP 's message, and we want to voice our concerns against counterfeiting," said Malek Al Malek, Managing Director, Dubai Internet City . "Counterfeiting not only results in loss of revenue and loss of jobs, but it is also viewed as an unprincipled activity. In addition, purchasing fake and illegal products across any segment undermines eco-conscious efforts to reuse and recycle since the products are unsustainable and potentially dangerous."

DIC 's endorsement of HP 's campaign will also help to drive further impact and highlight the importance of the message throughout the region. These will form part of a joint effort by HP and DIC to increase awareness and to educate customers to buy only original supplies from authorized partners. HP hopes that the move will also act as a call to action for the companies within DIC 's community, of which HP is a key member.

"It is a significant milestone in our fight against counterfeiting that Dubai Internet City has partnered with us to help combat this crime," said Amin Mortazavi, General Manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP Middle East . "As a worldwide leader in the industry, our customers trust the HP brand to provide them with quality products, and we are committed to protecting our customers from fraudulent, misleading goods bearing the HP name."

Counterfeit supplies can damage printers, decrease printers' performance and affect reliability. Print quality produced by these fake goods will not be up to the standards expected from genuine HP products. Companies tend to buy counterfeit printing products - like fake cartridges - to save costs, which add to the $200 billion annual global trade in counterfeit products. Furthermore, most of these cartridges do not work properly thus wasting money; they harm the environment due to the wasted inferior quality print-outs and do not stand to gain from the HP Planet Partners return and recycling programme, which enables simple, convenient recycling of Original HP inkjet and LaserJet supplies.

In addition to DIC , the government of Dubai has also consistently worked to protect intellectual property rights for businesses in the region and to combat the rise of counterfeit goods. In 2008, Dubai hosted the Fourth Global Congress to Combat Counterfeiting and Piracy. In March, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with the Brand Owners Protection Group, held a workshop on Consumer Protection against Counterfeits.

DIC and HP look forward to a continuous and long-term partnership across different corporate social responsibility initiatives.

-Ends-

About Dubai Internet City
Dubai Internet City was established in 2000 and is the largest managed Information and Communication Technology cluster in the region comprised of over 1,300 IT companies from various segments. Its core focus area extends from the Middle East to the Indian Subcontinent and from Africa to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Its support of HP 's campaign is a reiteration of the importance DIC places on customer education programs for the benefit of the industry as a whole as well as within its own community.

About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com

© 2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be constructed as constructing an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

© Press Release 2010