Qatar steps up fight against pirated goods

Authorities seized an estimated QR1.25mn worth of pirated software, hardware, music and video materials through various means in 2011, a senior official said yesterday.The seizures were made by the Intellectual Property Centre (IPC) at Qatar’s Ministry of Justice in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior.Abdulla Ahmad Qayed, Director of the IPC, said at a joint press conference with the Business Software Alliance (BSA), a global association that defends the intellectual property rights of software companies, that 37 individual cases of property rights violations were brought to the Centre’s attention.Among them were 10 involving movies and music, 10 software and 17 Playstation hardware and software. Customs officers seized 700-800 pirated DVDs from a passenger arriving at the airport just last week. Of the 37 cases brought to the attention of the authorities, 17 involved street vendors who frequently try to sell pirated materials in the Industrial Area and Al Najada on Fridays when they mistakenly believe that the police are not working. Qayed said since 2000, around QR15mn worth of content has been confiscated, with Microsoft products being the most commonly seized software as they are a member of the BSA, who actively pursue property right violations in co-operation with the IPC.The IPC is launching a campaign this year to tackle content piracy on several levels, including a partnership with schools to incorporate the concept of intellectual property rights into the curriculum. The Centre has also spoken with religious leaders and around 400 mosques have seen the subject of intellectual content piracy included in Friday sermons. In the coming months an ad campaign will be launched across the country to raise awareness of the issue. In March, IPC will begin an anti-Internet piracy campaign in partnership with Qtel, and will also hold a two-day seminar on the protection of broadcast rights in Arab states in consultation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation.Due to its efforts to promote intellectual property rights, “we see Qatar among the top countries in the region, with a number of activities and campaigns reducing the rate of piracy. We see now the results of those activities…in Qatar, and the experience of the Ministry of Justice is being used now in other countries to their benefit,” said Qayed.He said that the justice ministry will be redoubling their efforts to better serve end-users, customers, resellers and individuals.  Intellectual property agencies like the BSA frequently identify companies and resellers in Qatar that are either using or selling unlicensed copies of right-protected products and report them to the IPC. The IPC also has its own inspectors who visit stores and marketplaces to identify violators. Qayed said that the Centre usually tries to resolve situations involving violations amicably, as many company directors are often not aware that the software being used is unlicensed and agree to resolve the situation immediately. When cases cannot be resolved through an agreement, which usually occurs when resellers fail to address the concerns of the IPC, the MoI will assist with raids and seizures of counterfeit products. These cases are then sent to the police department which refers them to a prosecutor who then brings the defendant to court. Businesses and individuals that continue to violate the intellectual property laws passed in 2002 can face closure, fines and possibly imprisonment if convicted by the judicial system. While the reduction of piracy is an ongoing process, Qayed admits that it will never be eliminated. He said that the selling of duplicates is now an “organised crime,” making it difficult to totally eradicate. While the IPC is cracking down on violations by companies and resellers, they are not looking into violations committed in people’s homes as long as those acts of piracy are not for commercial purposes.