Kingdom clamps down on use of pirated software

The Saudi government is clamping down on all government departments using pirated software, said Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Jasser on Tuesday at a workshop.
He said that government is also tackling suppliers that sell this fraudulent software to government agencies.
Al-Jasser said all departments have to install licensed software as part of government's commitment to protect and respect local and international intellectual property rights (IPR).
“Since the government was removed from the 301 watch list in 2010, a royal decree has been issued that all government ministries and other affiliated organizations should use properly-licensed software,” he said during the workshop, the first of its kind held in the Middle East.
Every year the United States issues its “Special 301” watch list to name countries that do not protect intellectual property rights.
The workshop, held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja, was entitled “General Administration Copyright Workshop,” and was attended by 250 government officials from 75 different agencies.
Al-Jasser deplored that “five government agencies were found using pirated software.” He did not name the agencies.
He said “the ministry is taking decisive steps to combat piracy” and that two workshops will be held annually for government officials and the private sector respectively on the issue of intellectual property rights.
Al-Jasser said the ministry will submit a list to the royal court of all government organizations infringing copyrights.
Abdulaziz Al-Saif, chairman of the intellectual property rights committee at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, spoke about the role and responsibility of the state to protect the national database and associated software, in relation to trade-related aspects of the IPR agreement.
Mohammad Al-Dhabaan, representative and spokesman of Business Software Alliance (BSA) in Saudi Arabia, discussed the importance of software licenses and how license schemes are categorized based on individuals, new machines, the government sector, education sector, small and medium-sized enterprises, and international companies.
He also highlighted the different license options such as buying, renting, clouding and upgrading; and proof of license either by certificate, authentication or agreement.
Al-Dhabaan also explained the differences between original and copied CDs in terms of holograms and serial numbers.
Samir M. A. No'man, Microsoft president, talked on the importance of cloud computing and effective information technology (IT) requirements for companies.
“Cloud computing is flexible and can be used only when it is needed. It makes organizations flexible with regards to their computing needs. As a result, organizations can save money,” he said.
“If they use more IT, they pay more. But by using cloud computing, they have flexibility and don't need extra hardware that exceeds their need.”
Ahmed Khayari, assistant director general of the e-government program, Yesser, talked about the importance of using genuine computer software in relation to security threats.
Raddad Ayoub, director for Enterprise Risk Services at Deloitte, spoke about software asset management for enterprises and the importance of complying with licensing agreements.
“Licensing compliance impacts the financial viability of an organization, ensures protection of assets and prevents violations of local and international legal requirements,” he said.
Rafeik Al-Okaily, director of the General Department of Protection Against Infringement at the Ministry of Culture and Information, spoke about the legal situation of the Kingdom.
“Our main function is to make sure that the software being used in government and the private sector is legal to protect IPR,” he said on the sidelines of the workshop.
“The government is keen to acquire genuine software and is aware of the protection of copyright policies associated with it.”
“The commission of protection against copyright infringement has reported an increasing number of violations by civilian contractors fraudulently supplying government agencies with unlicensed software, and in other cases distributing unauthorized software licenses,” he said.
He added that a study conducted by his department concluded that a percentage of government computers are operating unlicensed software supplied by fraudulent software suppliers.