The Ministry of Culture and Information (MoCI) of Saudi Arabia has started implementing a number of major anti-piracy measures in a move to establish the Kingdom as a regional leader in anti-piracy efforts.

The MoCI, through the personal efforts of Minister Madani, has launched a public website on which critical information on copyright anti-piracy cases will be posed.

The website can be found at http://www.info.gov.sa/info/copyrights/followup.aspx. The Kingdom is the first country that has implemented such an enforcement transparencny initiative in the region.

Eric Smith, president, International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), who met with Minister Madani last March, praised the Minister’s actions: 'We commend the KSA Government and Minister Madani for taking this historic step forward in the fight against piracy in the Kingdom.

'The establishment of a MoCI public website, bolstered by a reformed and more effective Violations Review Committee within the Ministry demonstrates the creativity and commitment of the KSA government, and the Ministry in particular, in finding new and effective ways to fight this growing social and economic threat.

'We are all hopeful that this new transparency will lead to deterrent fines and penalties for shops and street vendors dealing in pirate products, and imprisonment in serious piracy cases, in order to bring much needed deterrence into the Kingdom’s enforcement system.'

In 2006, Saudi Arabia committed to a tougher stance against intellectual property rights (IPR) violations in meetings with the US government and with IIPA.

Unfortunately, several criminal elements continued to take advantage of the Kingdom's strong commercial growth, which has led to the proliferation of sales of pirated materials causing severe damage to legitimate Saudi industries.

For 2008, Saudi Arabia, working with the IIPA will focus on completing the transparency process, on deterrent enforcement; the legal use of copyrighted software in the government and Saudi enterprises; and copyright law reform.

Scot Butler, CEO, Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAA), said: 'Piracy compromises economic growth and innovation; it also violates the law, causes substantial businesses losses, and victimises consumers. In addition, these criminal acts tarnish the Kingdom's image around the world.'

'The Saudi Government's positive actions bode well for the future of IPR enforcement in the country. Copyright protection is an essential component for sustained economic growth and social development. The government's efforts are a positive step towards even more progress for the KSA. The AAA highly values and supports such initiatives to clamp down on counterfeiters and profiteers,' he added.
 
Ola Khudair, deputy CEO, AAA, said: 'The recent appointment of MoCI Undersecretary [His Excellency] Abdul Rahman Al Hazzaa has been a noteworthy development in the KSA’s fight against piracy.

'The leadership of the KSA represented by the Undersecretary has radically changed the overall direction of KSA's anti-piracy efforts; all piracy-related cases are now being addressed through regular meetings and coordination between AAA, other right holders and the MoCI Undersecretary.

'[His Excellency] Abdul Rahman Al Hazzaa has been highly cooperative and active in both private and public sector anti-piracy campaigns which he has steered in the right direction, so we are expecting the emergence of best anti-piracy practices in the KSA.

'While sustained efforts to curb piracy in KSA are reaping rewards, the AAA is committed to intensify its awareness campaigns to maximise the impact of various initiatives aimed at protecting IPR,' said Khudair.

Established in 1984, IIPA is a private-sector coalition of seven trade associations representing over 1,900 companies producing and distributing materials protected by copyright laws throughout the world.

The Alliance helps prepare the annual 'Special 301' reviews on whether acts, policies or practices of any foreign country deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or fair and equitable market access.

The Dubai-based Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance is dedicated to curbing piracy in the Middle East through a comprehensive anti-piracy program involving public awareness campaigns, aggressive lobbying, and legal action against IPR offenders.

The Alliance, which evolved from the anti-piracy program established by the Motion Picture Association in 1996, currently has full time operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, where its operations managers closely coordinate with governments to safeguard against copyright and trademark infringements. - TradeArabia News Service