Abdullah Ahmed Qayed replying to a question at a news briefing in Doha yesterday with Naser Samaenah, head of Anti-Piracy and License Compliance at Adobe Systems MENA. Abdul Basit
DOHA: Combating software piracy is crucial as steady piracy reduction can immensely help generate new jobs by boosting investment opportunities in the IT and related industries, studies suggest.
Besides, software piracy has a negative impact on state revenues which can affect public spending on development projects, among other things.
So, a steady reduction in software piracy can help generate millions of riyals a year in additional revenues for the government.
Qatar’s Ministry of Justice has intensified efforts to reduce software piracy and protect intellectual property rights (IPR).
The Ministry will continue to work closely with the software industry to achieve anti- software piracy goals, officials told reporters here yesterday.
The press briefing was held in collaboration with Adobe Systems Incorporated MENA, with whose cooperation the Ministry said it was stepping up efforts to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and further reduce software piracy in the country.
The Ministry said it will continue with its strategy of creating greater awareness among resellers and end-users about the negative social and economic effects of piracy through a series of seminars, roundtables and events in association with software companies such as Adobe.
The strong government commitment to protect IPR in Qatar over the years has contributed to a significant reduction in software piracy rates over the past five years.
Abdulla Ahmad Qayed, Director, Intellectual Property, Ministry of Justice, said: “Qatar has taken a firm stand against software piracy and violation of intellectual property rights. The Ministry of Justice in particular has been strongly committed to tackling this issue by underlining the legal implications of IPR violations while also creating greater awareness about the detrimental effects of using pirated software. Resellers and end-users in Qatar need to realise that high levels of software piracy and counterfeiting activity seriously harm a country’s innovation and ability to continuously produce intellectual property, which eventually reduces overall economic activity. We look forward to working closely with software companies such as Adobe to jointly execute high-impact initiatives to maximise the use of genuine software and further reduce piracy in Qatar, especially at a time when the country’s economy is witnessing robust growth.”
Naser Samaenah, Head of Anti-Piracy and License Compliance, Adobe Systems MENA, said:
“The Ministry of Justice has been leading the campaign against IPR violation in Qatar, which has reflected positively on the country’s software piracy rates over the last five years. However, given the impact of software piracy on the economy, there is still much that needs to be done through the combined efforts of the government, software industry, resellers and end users.
The Peninsula
