For the integration of government agencies work, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs announced a joint initiative to enhance the credibility and clarity of shop signboards and to protect their commercial identity.
This initiative aims to enhance confidence between the consumers and the commercial institutions in the local markets through protecting the commercial identity of shops and businesses, as well as protecting the consumers against any misleading or fraudulent actions.
This initiative aims also to prevent any manipulation or circumventions in using certain names and trademarks, as well as ensuring that some shops or stores avoid misusing or imitating some similar trade names, or making tricks in designing the signboards.
The two Ministries set up a joint working group of specialists to control the violations related to the shops' signboards to ensure clarity of the trade name, also its conformity with what is written in the commercial registration or the trademark, and to prevent any manipulation or misleading, like reducing some words in the signboards and enlarging others to mislead the consumer that this shop belongs to a well-known chain of stores.
The two Ministries have given a deadline for all shops to correct their signboards; that is till the end of the current Hijrah year, then the joint working groups will begin on 1 Muharram 1441H, corresponding to August 31, 2019, to carry out intensive field inspection tours covering all shops and outlets in the markets. Any signboards in violation will be removed and relevant penalties will be imposed.
This initiative comes within the joint government efforts to enhance the trade and investment environment, also to protect the investor and the consumer in a way that contributes to achieving sustainable development.