Kuwait has witnessed another raid against a company using unlicensed software. The Intellectual Property department at the Ministry of Information has announced a successful raid operation, where one of the country’s largest reconstruction houses was found to be using unlicensed software on dozens of computers.
This is part of continuous investigation and implementation action by the Kuwaiti government to curb the use and sale of illegal software in order to encourage and support the development of the country’s Information Technology (IT) sector.
“This company in particular is an engineering firm, which means that they sell intellectual property in the form of the designs, plans and projects that they execute, one would have expected them to be community leaders by following proper software management policies,” commented Shaikha Rasha Al-Naif Al-Sabah, director of the Intellectual Property Department at the Ministry of Information.
“Copyright protection is a basic requirement for any country to strengthen and develop its economy in the present day and age,” added Shaikha Rasha “today, software is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and a very promising sector in Kuwait, we cannot allow illegal activities to obliterate this potential”
Piracy in all its forms—music, film and software—has been reduced over the past years in Kuwait, in an effort to enhance market trust and encourage investments.
The Business Software Alliance is an international organization representing leading software and e-commerce developers in 65 countries around the world. Established in 1988, BSA has offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. As the "voice" of the software industry, the BSA helps governments and consumers understand how software strengthens the economy, worker productivity and global development; and how its further expansion hinges on the successful fight against software piracy and Internet theft. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
