ALKHOBAR, 11 October 2005 — Ramadan is in full swing and Muslims everywhere are fasting, praying and engaged in good deeds, fervently hoping that Allah will forgive them for their sins. But in the midst of all this commendable activity, many of those same Muslims are in engaged in criminal behavior. In Saudi Arabia, the software piracy rate was 52 percent in 2004. Software piracy is a crime, and individuals either producing or using pirated software are participating in the infringement of the intellectual property rights of others.
I know that people don’t want to hear about the piracy problem. Several times in recent years Arab News has highlighted the issue on the CompuNet pages and afterward, we always receive numerous e-mails from people in which they attempt to justify software piracy. Some of the excuses put forward are:
• The software is priced too high.
• The company that creates the software is already rich, so stealing the software doesn’t matter.
• The morality or business practices of the company that created the software are questionable, so it is acceptable to steal their software.
• The person pirating the software is poor, so it is all right for them to steal from the rich company. Also known as the Robin Hood justification.
• The software is defective so paying for it is stupid.
• The software is only for personal use.
• The software has poor local support so the vendor shouldn’t expect anyone to pay for it.
• Buying one copy of an application is enough.
The bottom line is that there is no valid excuse for software piracy. The laws of the Kingdom and many other nations have made the theft of intellectual property a crime. Software is a type of intellectual property which is made available under license. If an individual or business uses a pirated copy of the software or in some way violates the software licensing agreement, then that person or entity is committing theft. Such behavior is a sin and respected Islamic jurists have condemned software piracy.
Recently some Arabic newspapers have been running announcements put forward by the Ministry of Culture and Information. These notices stress the importance of complying with the copyright law. The punishments for whomever violates this law include fines of up to SR500,000 and/or the government can shut down operations of the entity in violation for four months or permanently. Under the law individuals engaged in abuse of intellectual property can be jailed for a period up to a year. The government will destroy all material that is deemed pirated and they will confiscate all equipment that is used for copying or forgery. Individuals and organizations can be ordered to pay compensation for losses caused to the vendors whose software was pirated. Additionally, the government has the right to publicize the crime committed.
The law allowing the implementation of the Royal Decree and penalties in regards to violation of intellectual property rights became effective on 22/1/1425. Under the enforcement of the law, the Ministry of Culture and Information has the right to conduct unannounced inspections. The law applies to all establishments or companies working in sales or distribution of software or audio-visual property and any commercial, industrial, service, financial, investment or administrative entity that uses in its day to day work software or audio-visual tools. The government is to decide the punishment for violators based on the magnitude of the violation.
The law is not new and has been enforced in the past but not stringently. However, with the coming of WTO and increasing pressure from international software and audio-video vendors, the government is once again stepping up its anti-piracy activities.
Is the government’s current campaign right? Yes, it is the law. Will the anti-piracy campaign be effective? Probably not. The truth is that generally most people want to be perceived as upstanding members of any community. These folks commonly indulge in an illegal activity only when they don’t understand the issue or when they don’t feel that there is an alternative.
In regards to PC penetration and computer literacy, Saudi figures in both these areas are low. This indicates that education on legally using software is necessary. When was the last time that the general public in the Kingdom was able to attend a free vendor-neutral seminar on the options available in regards to basic software applications for PCs? Never.
This year I took home two new PCs. They came with legal Microsoft operating systems and nothing else. No application software at all was loaded on the machines. I could have gone pirated and purchased illegal software CDs, but I didn’t. Instead, for $70 per machine I was able to purchase all the software I needed to run every home office and graphics application I required. I could have loaded up other applications for even less, but I used Corel and got good support for my money. I was able to use Corel applications because I knew they existed. This shows how critical it is to publicize the options available.
Additionally, I am someone who understands the importance of intellectual property rights. Why? Because my intellectual property is stolen regularly. Every week, I produce original content for the pages of Arab News and that content or intellectual property is taken and illegally posted on the Internet. If you don’t believe me, just do an Internet search. Not many websites ask permission to use Arab News’ content.
So I understand the intellectual property issue, but how many people in Saudi Arabia understand it? How many people in the Kingdom have ever produced intellectual property? How many Saudi poets, artists and web developers are out there? How many children were rewarded in school for creating original intellectual content? If a society does not perceive intellectual property to have value, then how can that society be convinced to protect such a creation?
The Second Annual BSA and IDC Global Software Piracy Study found that in 2004, losses in Saudi Arabia due to piracy amounted to $125 million. The report states that “software piracy has many negative economic consequences. Local software industries are crippled from competition with high-quality pirated software from abroad. There are lost tax revenues and jobs from lack of a legitimate market and costs of ineffectual enforcement. These costs reverberate up and down the supply and distribution chains.”
While enforcement is a vital aspect of the anti-piracy fight, education is acknowledged to be essential as well. The first goal in reducing piracy rates is the benefit of the nation — not the increased revenues of any vendor. Thus, while the government is to be commended for acting on the law, it would be better for the nation as a whole if equal or greater attention were given to education on the importance of the creation and valuing of intellectual property within Saudi society.
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