Dubai Tough legislation and punitive action against offenders have worked seamlessly well in stabilising software piracy levels in the UAE at 36 per cent in the last two years. If these relatively low levels are maintained over the medium-term, it would come as a major relief for the local tech industry.
More so as prospects for a marked turnaround in IT-related spending is starting to filter through in recent months, with major contracts or tenders being called by government entities and leading businesses. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), IT spending for the full year could be as high as 16 per cent over the 2009 numbers.
But, with "IT spending expected to rebound in 2010 and thereafter, this could drive increase in piracy as we expect an increase in the installed base of PCs — especially notebooks — in the home, education and small business sectors, [which are] the most price-sensitive parts of the market and most prone to high piracy rates", said Ranjit Rajan, research director for software at IDC.
"The home segment normally shows much higher piracy [and] pushes the overall country rates up."
A key reason in the reduced piracy levels in the UAE was the reduced spending on new PCs and notebooks during 2009. This coincided with the marked loss in confidence among consumers as recession bit into their spending habits. With the downturn as a backdrop, the software vendors also did their bit by dropping prices, thus making it "less attractive" for buyers to seek out pirated stuff.
But Rajan believes the authorities have the situation well under control, even if higher IT spending creates an environment more conducive to the usage of pirated software. "This trend could be expected to be counter-balanced by the increasing legislative, enforcement and educational efforts of the government," he said. "As a result, UAE piracy rates could be expected to remain stable."
Wriggle room
Could the UAE do more on the legislative side to ensure as little wriggle room for peddlers of pirated material? Dr Michael Krämer, associate at the law firm of Taylor Wessing, doesn't think more can be done. "I do not see any immediate need to update either the UAE Copyright Law [the most relevant law in relation to software protection] or any other intellectual property legislation," Krämer said. "These laws do, in principle, outlaw any act of piracy, as they should."
Rajan concurs with the sentiment that all the needed legislative measures are fully in place on intellectual rights protection. "The GCC countries have taken significant strides in addressing piracy-related legislation," he said. "Membership of the WTO has persuaded countries to comply with international treaties.
"In parallel, the countries have also been continuously reviewing and revising their copyright and patent legislations. For instance, although the UAE passed its first anti-fraud law in the late 1970s, it subsequently modernised and amended it in the 1990s and early 2000s.
"The enforcement measures included in the UAE's current anti-fraud legislation have proven both a powerful deterrent and an effective punitive measure. Seizure and destruction of counterfeit products and prosecution of offenders have stepped up."
Capping piracy rates in the low to mid-30 per cent range represents a major breakthrough for the UAE. These rates are comparable to those existing in Western Europe.
But Krämer raises a pertinent point: "The UAE may well have one of the lowest piracy levels in the region, but even here we are dealing with more than one out of three software products being pirated. This is by no means a small number, and translates into millions of dirhams worth of damages.
"That said it would be virtually impossible to entirely root out piracy, be it in relation to software or any other sort of intellectual property. Available tools to combat piracy, such as digital rights management systems, sometimes conflict with privacy and data protection regulations and may therefore not be the ideal solution."
Do you purchase pirated software and movies? What will make you stop? Is tougher legislation the only way in which the industry can crack down on piracy?
