Egypt is poised to become a leader in the burgeoning computer software manufacturing industry in the Middle East, amid declining regional software piracy rates.
The nation has enjoyed some success in curbing software piracy, according to the annual report issued by the US-based Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA). Software piracy incidents in the country were slashed by 25 percent last year.
Many attribute the piracy decline to the Ministry of Culture's strict enforcement of the Intellectual Property Rights Law. Egypt, the first country in the Middle East to boast a copyright law, amended the law in 1992 to explicitly cover software piracy.
The enforcement of the copyright law against software piracy commenced in 1994. Nearly 30 anti-piracy raids were conducted since 1996 in various areas across the nation, including Alexandria, Cairo, Tanta and Mansoura, Al-Ahram Newspaper reported. Violators of software copyright laws now face stricter penalties than ever, as Egypt this year issued its first jail sentence for against a professional piracy user.
The Egyptian Ministry intensified its crackdown on software piracy in 1998, starting a new 'Copyright education' mission aimed at slashing the level of piracy in software and creating a healthier business environment for the growth of the local software industry and for attracting foreign investments.
The government efforts appear to be effective, sending piracy rates in Egypt into a state of decline for the first time in nearly 6 years. According to a People's Assembly report, Egypt has already lost nearly E£30 million in revenue due to software piracy, though Nasser Ali Khawasneh, BSA's Vice-President for the Middle East and North Africa, deems the losses to be even greater.
"Pirates do not pay taxes," he said, "and the higher the rate of piracy, the lower the investment attractiveness of a country...Egypt has great potential in the IT sector because of its human resources, but growth is compromised by 'insufficient protection' for creativity."
Khawasneh, who is also the Middle East head of the International Federation of Computer Software Manufacturers, called on Egypt to join a World Intellectual Property Organization treaty which aims to bring laws into line with rapid changes in the international information.
"We hope that Egypt will be able in a short time to become a leader in this field [software manufacture]," remarked Khasawneh.
Worldwide, the BSA estimated the use of illegal software costs more than $11.4 billion annually. Regionally, BSA statistics showed that the Middle East had a 63 percent software piracy rate, the second highest regional rate in the world (trailing Eastern Europe). Nonetheless, this rate dipped by 9 percent from last year, and plunged by 21 percent from 1994 levels.
The losses for the industry from piracy in the Middle East increased by 78 percent to $245 million last year, with Egypt's share pegged at E£30 million. South Africa, Turkey and Israel constituted a combined 49 percent of the monetary loss in the region.
Though many nations in the region have increased both awareness and action against the software piracy problem, experts contend that much work remains.
In Lebanon, the nation with the unenviable highest piracy rate in the region, the rate fell from 93 percent in 1994 to 88 percent in 1999, earning it fifth place on the list of the worst software pirating nations worldwide, the Third BSA Independent study disclosed.
Israel boasted a 44 percent rate, down from 78 percent in 1994. By way of comparison, Vietnam, China and Russia have piracy rates of 98, 91, and 90 percent respectively. The world's lowest software piracy rates according to the BSA were seen in the US, UK and Germany, with 25, 26, 27 percent rates respectively. Nonetheless, these nations consistently register the highest revenue losses from piracy problems, with the US losing $3.2 billion last year, more than 25 percent of the estimated world total.
Governments across the region are increasingly awakening to the economic advantages of ensuring widespread legitimate software, which include: aiding organizations and/or government agencies to save money by eliminating redundant and under-utilized software; taking advantage of volume license agreements offered by many software publishers; qualify for special upgrades upon Registration, and protecting against the introduction of computer viruses.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to play regional leader, with the BSA hopeful that others will follow the lead. The UAE constricted its domestic piracy rate from 88 percent to 60 percent over two years. Dubai, the first regionally to sign an agreement regulating the number of software users, has enjoyed its position as the regional IT hub. Experts believe that Egypt's plight against piracy must duplicate the success of the United Arab Emirates.
"Within the Middle East, the UAE has again registered another impressive drop in its piracy rates. Not only is it leading all other Arab countries in the Middle East in its campaign to fight piracy, it is also outperforming virtually any other country," Ashok Sharma, the Director of the BSA Middle East announced.
While Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been actively enforcing existing copyright legislation for some time, Qatar and Bahrain have taken action in recent months and conducted their first official raids.
Kuwait and Oman are considering how they can best legislate and enforce copyright laws. Kuwait recently announced a decree for the protection of Copyright Laws within Government organizations, a move expected to cause a much lower level of piracy in Kuwait next year.
"Sadly, we also have the case of Oman, where despite laws to protect computer software, we have among the world's highest rates of piracy. We urge Oman government to take immediate steps to enforce Oman's Copyright Laws, so that many promising Omani companies can create and further develop their computer programs," Mr. Sharma added.
"With many Arabic software producers joining BSA-Middle East, we will be able to help protect software developed in the Middle East. This will lead to more jobs for the local Information Technology industry. It will also lead to increased investment by International companies in the region," Sharma commented.
Egypt's software industry alone is expected to continue to grow between 25-35 percent until 2005, according to one of the leading business applications software houses.
Nonetheless, BSA and software experts claim that Egypt and the region at large, must continue to 'fight the good fight' against software piracy, to fully reap the rewards of software success. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
