RIYADH - Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, governor of Riyadh region called for setting up a special committee to follow-up on intellectual property issues in Saudi Arabia. The committee will include representatives from the governor's office, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Information and Culture, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority as well as copyright holders.
This decision came after a meeting with the International Intellectual Property Alliance's (IIPA) delegation concluded on January 25, 2006.
Eric Smith, IIPA president, discussed with the Saudi officials and ministers intellectual property-related matters, copyright issues, challenges that face intellectual property rights' enforcement as well as the adoption of stringent measures to fight piracy especially in the computer software sector.
As reported by The Gulf Daily News, Saudi Arabia, the newest member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has pledged to jail violators of intellectual property rights in a fight against piracy.
"Saudi Arabia has stepped up raids against piracy but needs to do more to live up to the WTO's treaty, Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)," said Smith.
"There is room for improvement mainly in implementing the law," added Smith, whose organization represents 1,900 US firms that produce and distribute copyright-protected material.
"The Saudi Ministry of Information and Culture had pledged to the IIPA delegation that it would jail counterfeiters in the country instead of only fining them," Smith pointed out.
"Saudi authorities also promised to allow distributors and producers access to information on piracy cases in order to appeal court decisions against violators, if they think that verdicts against them were too soft," Smith concluded.