IT reseller in Dubai opts for settlement agreement with Microsoft following seizure of illegal software

The raid, conducted in coordination with the UAE Government in line with its efforts to curb piracy, followed an official complaint by Microsoft.

"The Settlement Agreement is a positive contribution to the anti-piracy initiative by Sun Rose, as the company has promised to make sure that no illegal items are in the store. As a result, Sun Rose Computers will now benefit from increased revenues and a reputation based on being a provider of high quality and reliable products. The UAE Government strongly encourages more companies to respect this initiative and follow suit. Without the combined efforts of the government, corporate sector and the community as a whole, fighting the menace of piracy will not be easy," said Juma Al Leem, Director of Censorship Department, Dubai Government.

BSA with the help of the UAE government regularly launches awareness campaigns and raids throughout the region, aimed at protecting economic revenues and raising awareness about the protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The highly focused campaigns promote the advantages of using original software - in terms of technical support, regular updates, computer performance, greater data security and economic benefits.

This high level of piracy has a detrimental effect on economies by crippling local software industries, evading tax revenues and curtailing employment opportunities. A recent IDC software piracy study concluded that decreasing piracy by ten percentage points over four years would contribute more than 2.4 million new jobs and add up to US$ 70 billion in tax revenues to local governments worldwide.

Tolga Altinordu, OEM Director, Microsoft Gulf, said, "Although legal action is a last resort, Microsoft is prepared to follow this path in order to protect its customers, its partners and intellectual property. We are focused on increasing investments in the strategic areas of education and engineering to form a structured effort to curb piracy throughout the region. By using genuine Microsoft Windows Software the end user can have access to the latest features and support system to improve the productivity and expand the capabilities of your PC. On the other hand we believe that settlement agreement goes a long way in making IT vendors more responsible, Microsoft is committed to protecting honest partners from the unfair competition. The retailers signing the agreement play a vital role in educating end users about the importance of using only genuine software products, such as the settlement with Royal Focus and now with Sun Rose."

"By fostering creative methods of anti-piracy awareness, we are ultimately aiming to encourage our customers to use only genuine Microsoft Windows software, so that they will be assured of having all features. We are keen also in making the software features and anti-counterfeiting technologies that can alert a consumer to the presence of pirated software to ensure that the company is following the right path. This will provide them with very high security against viruses, in addition to improving the productivity and capabilities of their computers," Altinordu added.

All Concerned authorities is regularly involved in IPR preservation initiatives throughout the Middle East and has contributed to the UAE being on the list of 20 countries with the lowest international software piracy rates.