The battle in the Gulf against the illegal use of copyrighted software continues, with the offices of a major Omani company searched by officials of the country’s ministry of national heritage and 62 personal computers seized.
A search through the hard drives of the family-owned company revealed illegal software from Adobe, Lotus, Macromedia, AutoDesk, Symantec, Network Associates and Microsoft.
The Omani authorities plan to enforce the copyright law regardless of the standing of the company involved, stated said Jawad Al-Redha, regional director of the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
The use illegal software in Oman is punishable by a jail sentence of up to two years and fines of up to 2,000 riyals.
Last Wednesday, the Abu Dhabi police closed Irma Trading Company on the grounds of software piracy. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
