Faisal, Emir of Makkah, is scheduled to open the first Anti-Fraud Arab Forum organized by the Arab League and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Over 1,000 experts from around the globe will gather here for the first of the three days of the symposium on Oct. 18. Khaled Bin Ahmad Al-Hamdan, a member of the organizing committee and member of the WIPO Council of Directors, praised Prince Khaled Al-Faisal for his interest in ways to protect consumers from commercial fraud and forged international brands. Copyright infringement, he said, inflicts financial losses on Arab countries estimated at $50 billion per year, losses that have a tangible effect on the economies of Arab countries. Pirated material accounts for 50 percent of all software used in Arab countries. Al-Hamdan said that the rate of software piracy in some Arab countries was 84 percent, and in some countries of the Gulf it amounted to 64 percent. – Okaz __
