JEDDAH, 23 February 2006 — Society’s lack of awareness of the economic effect of buying counterfeit products is hampering our industrial and intellectual development. This was the view expressed yesterday by lawyer Majed Garoub.
“Speaking about intellectual rights means the intellectual and industrial property. International agreements and local laws stipulate the protection of numerous rights,” said Garoub.
With the growing concern over protecting these rights in Saudi Arabia, especially after it joined the World Trade Organization, the Saudi Law Trading Center is holding a seminar on Feb. 25 and 26 at the Crown Plaza in Jeddah to address intellectual property laws.
“There are laws that protect copyrights but there is lack of awareness by the society and the private sector for the need to respect intellectual property rights,” said Garoub. “Studies show that people who purchase counterfeit products are not aware they are breaking the law.”
The issue though is bigger than a loss in sales for private companies.
“Purchasing original products encourages the development of quality national industries that depend on advanced technology and standards leading to investments that exceed billions of riyals in profits,” said Garoub.
Industrial property includes the protection of patents, drawings, industrial design and trademarks. With the advancements in technological development and economical requirements, the list of patentable products continues to grow.
Intellectual property includes the author’s rights, the rights of the producers of audio-video recorders, telecommunications and even the lines of code in software.
The two-day seminar that begins Saturday will also address the implementation process of the intellectual property laws and the imposition of severe penalties against infringements for preserving and developing the industry and economy.
The seminar, “Intellectual Property Laws and its effect on industry and economy within globalization”, will be held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani. It aims at highlighting the international agreements in respect of the intellectual property laws, explaining the intellectual property systems in both industry and literary works and clarifying the international efforts at combating counterfeiting and protecting intellectual property rights.
The speakers are national and international experts in the field of intellectual property laws in the theoretical and economic, legal, administrative and judicial applications. .
Garoub, who is the chairman of the Saudi Law Training Center, said that the targeted audience of this seminar includes all categories of the community and its various authorities.
“The sale of counterfeit products is an international phenomenon and there are businesses that thrive on it. We need to educate the consumers and the private sector about the economic effect of their decisions. The biggest harm is to the national economy because by buying and importing these cheap counterfeit products, they are preventing the localization and development of quality industries and innovations,” said Garoub.