RIYADH, 6 August 2003 — In a Kingdomwide raid on shops dealing in pirated CDs and computer programs, inspectors from the Ministry of Information and Culture confiscated unlicensed and pirated software material worth SR3.5 million as part of the anti-piracy campaign.
Misfer Al-Misfer, administration adviser and interior information supervisor, said a total of 41 computer shops were inspected in Riyadh, where 1,268 pirated scientific and technical CDs worth SR450,100 were seized. In Jeddah, 31 shops were raided and 1,852 pirated programs, including CDs worth SR640,800, were seized.
“By far, the largest seizure was in the Eastern Province, where officials raided shops and confiscated 6,736 pirated CDs containing cultural and medical programs worth over SR2 million,” Al-Misfer said. He pointed out that the ministry also confiscated computers with installed unlicensed software worth SR103,744.
The Kingdom’s software industry earned $883 million in revenues last year, a decrease of 27 percent over a seven-year period. During the same period, the number of unlicensed software programs fell from 73 percent in 1998 to 50 percent this year. The aim is to reduce the percentage of pirated copies in circulation to 42 percent by 2006. As a result of the crackdown, the IT industry will add an additional 1,800 employees to its work force which was 12,000 in 1998.
Al-Misfer said the ministry’s action was not limited only to computer shops. The inspectors also visited 941 small, medium and large companies all over the Kingdom. As a result, some 509 firms purchased licensed software. Al-Misfer pointed out that in Riyadh, 376 companies were investigated, out of which 205 corrected their status by installing licensed software.
Al-Misfer said the raids clearly established the role of expatriates in the sale of pirated and counterfeit products in the market. “The shop owners, who are Saudis, know nothing about what these expats are doing. However, since the business is conducted in the name of the Saudis, they must bear responsibility for these illegal activities,” he said, adding, “Investigations are under way. Once they are complete, those responsible will be jailed and later deported.”
