At a conference on "Protection of Intellectual Property" held recently in Kuwait, the Lawyers' Society of Kuwait have issued a call for amending the country's copyright laws to ensure better protection of Intellectual Property rights (IPR) in the country's markets. The conference, which was held under the auspices of Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber, highlighted the importance of IPR protection in the development of Kuwait's IT sector, as well as in attracting foreign capital subsequent to Kuwait's signing of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States of America.
"The development of Kuwait's IT sector is crucial to maintaining the competitiveness of the country's markets in today's global marketing scenarios. At the same time unchecked piracy of original audio and video products can only harm the vibrancy of Kuwait's entertainment market," said (Nethal Al-Homaidan, Head of IPR Committee at the lawyers society), Lawyers Society of Kuwait.
"This conference represents the coming together of government and market forces in the favour of IPR protection."
The Kuwaiti's lawyers' call for improved IPR protection was immediately endorsed by Business Software Alliance (BSA), the leading non-governmental organisation that represents the interests of global and local software developers and the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the international music industry body representing 1,500 record producers in 76 countries, including the Middle East.
"The conference on "Protection of Intellectual Property" is a commendable initiative on the part of the Lawyers Society of Kuwait. On the one hand, it will send a strong message to the market that there is a willingness to combat piracy, as well as warn errant traders that they will not be able to get away with piracy for too much longer. On the other hand, this initiative will create the climate for launching intensive awareness campaigns to inform all segments of the country's society about the issues at stake in the anti-piracy battle," said Mohammad Al-Dallal, BSA Kuwait.
BSA, which has been present in the Middle East for nearly a decade, has carried out extensive and sustained awareness campaigns. It has been responsible for changing market perceptions on software piracy. It has also been a crucial motivating factor in the increasingly rigorous IPR protection legislations promulgated by many regional governments. As a result, software piracy in these countries has reduced at increasingly rapid pace. With the support from the Kuwaiti government and bodies such as the Lawyers Society, BSA expects to repeat its success in Kuwait.
The entertainment segment of the Middle East markets has also focused increasing on the damage caused to the industry by music piracy. IFPI, which has played a pivotal role in the fight against music piracy, will also seek an improvement in the Kuwaiti IPR protection scenarios following the conference and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's call for assistance to the Ministry of Information. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
