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In a dramatic move in
Patna,
a raid on one of its most prominent channel
partner accusing the company of stocking and involving into business
over counterfeit HP cartridges putting the channel partner behind
bars. The incident took place on October 7, with Bihar IT Association
(
stepping in immediately, to rescue the alleged channel partner
and putting a ban on HP. “HP accused our fellow businessman of
dealing into counterfeit cartridges, which they have not been able to
prove so far. However, HP lodged an FIR putting the channel partner
behind the bars and we decided to unify and protest against the
atrocious move by HP,” said PK Sinha, Spokesperson, BITA. According
to BITA, the basis of the charges by HP is unclear. HP sent a legal
team for the raid, which concluded that the packaging of some of the
cartridges examined, reflected signs of counterfeit as the hologram
was under question. Further, as HP does not have a global tracking
number for HP consumables, the matter worsened with the legal team
accusing the channel partner of procuring HP cartridges illegally.
BITA further stated that
although sales invoices from the distributor was provided to HP, the
legal team was not satisfied and went ahead to lodge the FIR.
Besides, the accused is one of the most important and valuable
partner for HP in Bihar. As a measure of protest,
BITA members banned all trading with HP consumables from October 7 to
14, thereafter banning the entire range of HP products from the next
week and stopping entire business and all deals including
transactions with all brands from the third week. However,
considering the Dhanteras and the festive season, BITA has decided to
uplift the ban from October 28 till November 11. “The root cause of
all the trouble is non availability of serial numbers on consumable
products. Hence, we have decided to ban all the consumable brands,
which do not provide any unique serial number or global trackers,”
Sinha added. As a result of the
loggerhead, BITA has demanded an explanation from HP seeking
clarification and reasons over non-availability and non-use of global
serial trackers on its range of consumable products.
Reacting
to the stance
that BITA has put forward, HP is all set to defend its claims. In an
official communication to The DQ Week, an HP spokesperson said, “HP
vigorously defends its intellectual property by engaging in
industry-leading anti-counterfeiting (ACF) practices to combat the
fraudulent sale of counterfeit HP products and supplies. HP's ACF
investigations and enforcements, span all touch points of the
counterfeit business around the world. HP is serious about protecting
its IP, trademark and its brand through intelligence and
investigations that span borders to disrupt the international trade
of illicit or counterfeit products.”
Sources in BITA further
stated, that top managerial personnel including Neelam Dhawan, rushed
to Patna immediately, to amicably settle the matter with BITA.
However, HP's reluctance in withdrawing the case against the alleged
channel partner resulted in a deadlock with HP asking time till
November 9 to settle the matter with BITA. “We will be taking up
strong action against HP unless the case against our fellow
businessman is withdrawn and the baseless charges are quashed,”
Sinha concluded.
However,
HP seems to be in the mood of taking up the challenge from BITA and
at the same time inform their partners about counterfeits and track
them. Putting up a confident statement, the HP spokesperson
concluded, “It is understandable that the association (BITA) might
not be fully conversant, that counterfeit HP supplies sometimes
infiltrate the legitimate supply chain, thereby affecting their
business as well as HP's. If the subjects named/involved have been
duped into buying and selling counterfeit, it will come to light
during the police investigation and necessary actions will be taken
in accordance with law.”