JEDDAH - Violators of the Saudi Arabia's copyright law have been warned of tough punishments, including fines up to SR500,000, reported The Arab News.
Individuals engaged in the abuse of intellectual property will be jailed for up to one year, according to Saeed Al-Ghamdi, Director of the Culture and Information Ministry’s office in the Makkah region.
He said that the Ministry would carry out surprise raids in various parts of the Kingdom to track down violators of the copyright law, which was passed by the Cabinet on August 30, 2003.
“We carry out raids as part of our efforts to enforce the law across the country,” Al-Ghamdi stated.
The punishments include shutting down of a company or any other entity involved in the violation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for four months or permanently. The government will destroy all material that is deemed pirated and will confiscate all equipment that is used for copying or forgery.
Individuals and organizations might be ordered to pay compensation for losses caused to the vendors whose software was pirated.
The law applies to all establishments or companies involved in the sale or distribution of software or audiovisual property and any commercial, industrial, service, financial, investment or administrative entity that uses software or audiovisual tools.
The new law provides copyright protection for print publications, lectures, audio recordings, visual displays, and works of art and computer programs. For audio and visual works, photographic works and anonymous works, protection lasts for 25 years following the date of first publication. For other creative works, protection lasts for the author's lifetime plus 50 years.