RIYADH: The commercial value of unlicensed software installed on PCs in Saudi Arabia in 2010 amounted to $414 million, leaving the Kingdom with a software piracy rate of 52 percent in 2010 or a 1 percent increase from 2009, a specialized study on software piracy revealed Saturday. The Global Software Piracy Study conducted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the world's foremost advocate for the software industry, in partnership with International Data Corporation (IDC), covered 116 countries, and showed that commercial losses caused by software piracy in the Kingdom increased from $304 million in 2009 to $414 million in 2010. The study underscored the reality of software piracy in the Kingdom during a time when many emerging markets are making concerted efforts to tackle software piracy. The study found that software piracy in developing nations was 2.5 times higher than in developed markets, and the total worldwide commercial value of pirated software in 2010 was $59 billion, nearly double when the first study was conducted in 2003. "The study reveals that piracy in the Kingdom is still at 52 percent," said Ayman Al Takrori, Deputy General Manager of Intellectual Property, Microsoft Arabia. "While there have been several well intended anti-piracy initiatives and the partnership between public and private stakeholders in certainly improving, we need to sustain and increase them to achieve better results." He added that "Microsoft is working to address the risks posed by counterfeit software, which can have a devastating impact on the livelihoods of consumers, the productivity of small businesses, and the overall economies of emerging nations. Every year, millions of consumers and businesses are hurt by counterfeit software which they have acquired unwittingly. High quality counterfeit software, which looks like genuine software and which we are finding regularly in the Kingdom, can contain dangerous viruses, spyware and other malware that can have a large impact on consumers. As methods to manufacture and sell counterfeit software are becoming more sophisticated, there is an urgent need for greater awareness of this critical problem. In fact, international police organizations such as Interpol have announced there is growing evidence of criminal syndicates setting up their own manufacturing plants and distributing software via sophisticated networks throughout the world. This counterfeit is definitely making its way into the Kingdom," Al Takrori added. Recently, the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information, represented by the Committee of Intellectual Property Rights, warned that software piracy is a crime with a penalty of up to SR100,000 and imprisonment. The Committee has the authority to take strict action if acts of piracy are reported. Al Takrori said that the decision reflects the commitment of the Ministry of Culture and Information in implementing its strategy of using existing laws to ensure that intellectual property rights are respected. The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information protects intellectual property right issues through its executive arm, the General Department of Copyrights, which monitors IPR violations through a specialized team. An important aspect of copyright law is that it imposes penalties against violators and provides the affected parties with suitable compensation. Mohammed Al Dhabaan, CEO of Dhabaan law firm, said these measures include "jail terms for a period of up to one year, financial penalties of up to SR500,000 and compensation for Right Owners for the damages caused to them. This is apart from other penalties such as suspending the activities of a business for a period of up to four months and canceling their commercial registration." The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information is fully committed to combating piracy and violations of copyright, and prosecuting violators or those who use unlicensed commercial software. The Ministry has delegated inspectors to conduct field trips to inspect various commercial outlets across all the cities in the Kingdom. "Our view is that effective enforcement actions, along with education and engineering efforts, play a role in reducing software counterfeiting. In countries which have seen a marked reduction in their software piracy rates, key success factors have included Intellectual Property Rights legislation compliant with international standards, industry and law enforcement cooperation and broad awareness through education campaigns," said Dale Waterman, Microsoft's Corporate Attorney for Anti-Piracy for the Middle East and Africa.
