The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information gave two weeks to a Saudi trader in the Batha commercial area to dispose of all pirated products from his stores in compliance with the Kingdom's anti-piracy laws.
"The Saudi trader got wind of the fact that our inspectors had been monitoring his operations and went to the ministry to say that he be given enough time to legalize his operations," Rafeik Al-Okaily, the ministry's director of copyrights, told Arab News yesterday.
The Saudi trader is expected to get rid of his products in two weeks' time and after that ministry inspectors will check if he would have complied as promised, Al-Okaily added.
He added that if the Saudi trader would not have complied, he'd be arrested and the ministry's Violation Review Committee will recommend to the Board of Grievances (BOG) that he be fined and jailed.
"Normally, a trader found guilty of dealing in pirated products could be detained for at least 10 days and fined SR150,000," Al-Okaily said.
He cited the case of the first Saudi trader who was detained for violating the Kingdom's anti-piracy law early this year in coordination with the Dubai-based Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAA).
The BOG upheld the recommendation of the Violation Review Committee that the trader be imprisoned for 10 days and fined SR150,000. "The conviction is seen by the Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance as a precedent for merchants to strictly comply with Saudi anti-piracy laws," Scott Butler, AAA chief executive, said.
He added that in delivering its judgment, the BOG had also quashed doubts about the enforcement of piracy laws in Saudi Arabia, which had recorded the highest piracy rate in the GCC at 60 percent.
In April, the ministry also recommended to the BOG that a jail sentence and stiff fine be imposed on a Saudi arrested for trading pirated products in the Saudi capital's Shumaisy district.
"Next week, the BOG will make a decision on the case and hopefully it will also upheld the recommendation of the Violation Review Committee," Al-Okaily said.
He added that the ministry is also monitoring other local businessmen believed to be trading in pirated products in various parts of the capital city.
"However, we can't disclose details on them yet while our inspectors are trying to ascertain that they are indeed violating local laws on anti-piracy," he said.
Local traders given two weeks to dispose of pirated products
