JEDDAH, 19 April — COMDEX Saudi Arabia 2001 continues to attract large crowds at both the professional event and the shopper show. Today is the final day for the exhibition and huge numbers of attendees are expected as the professional show will be open to students for the first time.
There has been some confusion and disappointment about the COMDEX timings. The professional show opens from 10:30 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. and there are no sales allowed at the venue. The show’s organizers have stated that the participating companies preferred the earlier closing and that this was the standard arrangement internationally. The shopper show, which is for the general public, takes a break in the afternoon at 1:30 p.m. and reopens in the evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Before COMDEX began, the Ministry of Information distributed a circular to all participating companies advising them that intellectual property regulations would be enforced. If a stand was found selling pirated, unlicensed software, the illegal goods would be confiscated and the stand closed for the duration of the show.
To check the software licenses for computers on sale at COMDEX Shopper the Ministry of Information sent its inspectors to various stands on Tuesday to place orders for machines. The inspectors pretended to be ordinary customers and gave deposits for the machines stating that they would come back later in the day to collect them. When they arrived at the KSB stand on Tuesday evening they inspected the machine presented to them and found that it was preloaded with unlicensed software.
Producing identification they attempted to confiscate the machine. The stand’s salesmen refused to relinquish the computer claiming that it was no longer for sale and that the inspectors had no right to take it. All participants in the incident adjourned to the district’s police station where some hours later the stand’s manager finally capitulated to the ministry’s orders and that portion of the large stand selling computers was closed down. The stand continued to sell books and stationery items from a separate section.
Meanwhile another group, Clever Generations Tec repeatedly called the “customers” from the ministry to come and collect the machine that they had ordered. Busy with the police matter, the ministry’s inspectors did not arrive to claim the machine until yesterday morning. At that time they inspected the computer and found that all the software preloaded inside it was unlicensed. The stand was immediately ordered closed.
Security guards were posted in front of each shuttered stand to ensure that they could not reopen once the inspectors left.
While the ministry prevailed in both cases it was not without difficulty. Salesmen at the CGT stand claimed not to have the slightest idea about any problems with their preloaded machines. Salesmen at the KSB stand were openly hostile to inquiries about their violation.
Other companies participating in the show applauded the ministry’s decision. Watching the closure of the CTG stand, Ali Al Ghandour, Khalifa Computer Group stated that he was pleased with the action taken.
“If we all have to follow the same rules then at least we have a level playing field and may the best products and salesmen win,” said Ghandour.
“Closing these stands sends a clear message that the government is serious on this issue and will ensure that the laws are respected.”
There has been other excitement at the show — of a legal variety. Acer in conjunction with Microsoft held a draw in which a fully equipped Acer PC was won. The draws continue at the Microsoft stand with up to 40 prizes being distributed daily.
The Sony and Kodak stands are surrounded by curious onlookers all wanting to see demonstrations of digital imaging. People are extremely curious about how this technology works and its potential uses. The Egyptian Pavilion — Expolink — is aggressively promoting the products and technologies of Egyptian IT companies.
Many of the exhibitors in the Egyptian Pavilion have been in business for more than a decade and the Saudi market is finally waking up to the products and services of these companies which are actively working to facilitate the IT needs of the Arab world.
