Business Software Alliance (BSA) intends to bring action against intellectual property and copyright violators

Al Dhabaan said that annual losses software producers are estimated at more than $200m (SR750m), considering that such malicious practices are posing a threat to national economy reduces flow of foreign investments into the country. As a result, the Kingdom is considered the third most worst among the countries not protecting intellectual property.

In the press conference held at the Berlin hall, Four Seasons Hotel yesterday afternoon, Dhabaan said, "Preventing piracy is a major challenge before software producers, who lose billions of Dollars each year. Absence of ethical values in certain users and suppliers of counterfeited products, weak punishments and unaware consumers are the most important factors behind the spread growth and expansion of this phenomenon."

Representative of BSA in Saudi Arabia considered that easy punishments against those who commit piracy have encouraged them to go far with this behavior. Al Dhabaan highlighted the importance of tough punishments against such crimes, which affect the economic relations between countries.

"We need to unify the judicial authority responsible for considering violations to intellectual property laws. We need rapid actions. We need imprisonment and fines punishments. We need close follow up of suspected people, specially that BSA has published advertisements in all local newspapers applauding the positive developments that were effective in managing copyrights and the formation of an specialized committee to consider violations," Al Dhabaan said.

Al Dhabaan said that the time has come to bring actions against violators. He said, "We are going to call for toughest punishments, specifically sending to prison and claiming fines that reach more than one million Riyals in certain cases, especially against repeated violators. The system is clear about this. It states several punishments, starting with warning and ending with a six-month imprisonment, and a fine of 500,000 Riyals."

Enforcement of intellectual property laws will support societies in terms of economic, developmental and human progress. It is an essential element in creating new ideas that help in industrial development. Laws and systems of intellectual property were proved effective in developed countries on all levels. Realizing the importance of creating a knowledgeable environment with the importance of enforcing the systems, BSA was seeking during the previous period to spread awareness and to play an educational role. Ignorance will no longer be considered an excuse. "BSA is determined to punish all those who violate intellectual property and copyright," Al Dhabaan concluded.