Government agencies will be allowed until Nov. 4 to ensure they are running licensed software on their computer systems, a Ministry of Culture and Information official said.
Rafiq Al-Aqeeli, director of intellectual property rights at the ministry, said 13 government agencies have rectified their status, by obtaining software from technology companies owning the copyright products.
“These agencies obtained licensed software to avoid legal prosecution by the attorneys representing the companies that own the copyrights. About 20 other government agencies are now working to rectify their situation, while 33 more agencies have applied for the same purpose,” he said.
He said the Union of Software Developers, made up of seven international companies including Microsoft, said they would provide technical support to help the ministries and public organizations in Saudi Arabia better use the software.
“We gave government organizations until the end of Ramadan (Aug. 7) to regularize the use of software. But we will extend the deadline until Nov. 4 to allow these bodies to get the necessary budgets that will allow them to buy the software licenses,” he said.
Being a member of the World Trade Organization, Saudi Arabia maintains a protective environment over intellectual property rights.
The ministry has ordered various government organizations to start using original software in their computer and IT departments. “This will help protect their networks from hacking and malware,” the ministry said.
The US Trade Office produces an annual list of the countries that do not protect the rights of companies owning software.
According to a report in 2012, 35 business owners were prevented from leaving the country and their names were put on a list of “wanted people” because they failed to pay the fines levied against them for violating international intellectual property rights.
Three companies that procured computers running on pirated software for government agencies were penalized. They also failed to complete the legal procedures that would allow the organizations to use the software under their own name, even though these terms and conditions were part of the procurement agreements.
The fines levied against these companies were between SR 80,000 and SR 150,000.
A committee in charge of protecting intellectual property rights at the ministry, issued 464 rulings for violations against the owners of businesses and service companies, in addition to the temporary shutdown of 250 entities for periods of up to 60 days.
Govt agencies given Nov. 4 deadline to buy original software
