IFPI delegation meets Ministry of Information officials to discuss music piracy issues

The delegation discussed the importance of implementing strong measures to protect Intellectual property rights (IPR) in the music industry in the Middle East.

The delegation consisted of representatives from leading international and regional music companies, including BMG, EMI, Sony, Universal, Warner, Founoon, Rotana and MegaStar. The delegation was led by Trevor Pearcy, Director of Planning and Administration at the IFPI Secretariat headquarters, and accompanied by Mr. Joe Papovich, Senior Vice-President International of the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). Members of the delegation briefed the officials on new developments in music piracy in the region and the benefits that are derived from supporting national recording initiatives. There was a consensus of appreciation for the UAE's efforts in fighting piracy.

Reiterating the UAE's stand on piracy, His Excellency, Mr. Sakhr Gobash, said: 'Protecting intellectual property rights is a high priority area for us in the UAE, because we believe it is the foundation of all civilized societies and the right incentive to the advancement of talent and creativity. We have been using the Copyright Law to penalise violators and have succeeded in bringing down piracy levels considerably over the past few years. Music piracy is an area of concern to us, and we would be happy to work together with bodies like the IFPI to introduce measures that will lead to an improved music industry in the region'.

'The drive to promote protection of intellectual property rights in the region was further emphasized by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Information, who has urged concerned parties to increase awareness of this issue and to work towards protection of intellectual property rights in all fields, be it software, music recording or the rest of the entertainment industry. H.H also emphasized the importance of increased training to officials responsible for implementation of IPR', added Gobash.

'The IFPI is impressed with the achievements of the UAE in reducing music piracy, producing a remarkable accomplishment which we would like to promote as a model to the rest of the region. We would like to express our appreciation of the steps taken by the UAE authorities to protect the intellectual property rights of regional and international music companies,' said Frederic Giaccardo, Chairman of IFPI's MENA regional board.

'The purpose of this meeting is to initiate a dialogue with the government so that music producers can collaborate with top officials to introduce new measures for a persistent battle against music piracy,' added Adrian Cheesley, Managing Director, EMI Middle East.

The IFPI meeting with the Ministry of Information officials comes on the eve of a regional committee board meeting of IFPI in Dubai, which will bring together all the parties involved with the region's music industry. According to IFPI, piracy has become a serious problem in the Middle East region, mainly due to poor anti-piracy enforcement. Senior officers of RIAA and IFPI will actively participate in this initiative.

'We are delighted by the response from the UAE authorities and their proactive approach towards curbing piracy levels, ' said Shuckri Bundakji, President of BMG MENA. 'The authorities appreciated our concerns regarding music piracy in the Middle East and North Africa region and assured us that the UAE would extend its full cooperation in order to restrict illegal use of copyrights. The Ministry of Information and Culture shared our standpoint that a piracy-free recording industry will mean higher value future employment, better quality products for the end-user and a boost to the economy'.