BSA to highlight piracy awareness at exhibition

Dubai: The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is taking part in Gitex 2008 to create an awareness of anti-piracy initiatives.

It also aims to stress the importance of protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) and creating a piracy-free environment, a top official said.

"The UAE Government has been taking a very tough stand against violators of intellectual property rights and BSA has been working closely with the government to ensure that the piracy laws are strictly enforced and businesses understand the risks," said Jawad Al Redha, BSA Co-Chairman in the Middle East.

Al Redha said BSA has been ramping up its efforts in UAE to highlight the risks of unlicensed and illegal software, which could result in operational as well as financial consequences. "As a result of our awareness programmes, and the work of local government, our aim is to decrease the piracy rate, which has stayed at 35 per cent for the past two years," he said.

"The frequency of the raids could increase in the coming months, as the local government and BSA, as well as its members, are stepping up efforts to reduce piracy in the UAE," he added.

Coordination

He said BSA, alongside its members, which include many software companies, and in coordination with the government, has been conducting regular awareness campaigns throughout the UAE, aiming to educate and inform users about the detrimental effects of software piracy, such as data loss and viruses, while highlighting the support, services and security advantages of using original software.

The awareness campaigns target all sectors of business, with the aim of highlighting the risks of illegal and unlicensed software.

Among the new initiatives the BSA introduced recently are roundtables with the government, prosecutors, police and enforcement authorities across the GCC countries, to discuss various measures to tackle piracy in the region.

Copyright laws

During Gitex, BSA will distribute brochures and software management guides in order to raise awareness and educate the public about intellectual property rights and the UAE copyright laws, as well as about the measures being taken by the UAE Government to protect IPR laws.