Piracy in Jordan drops below Regional Average for the First Time
As part of the Kingdom’s continuous commitment to fighting software piracy, the Department of the National Library conducted an enforcement activity on a hard disk system builder in Amman who has been installing pirated software on the machines assembled at his shop. This case was referred to official authorities to take the necessary measures against the infringing party.
Aly Harakeh, Business Software Alliance (BSA) spokesperson for the Eastern Mediterranean region, an international association representing the global software industry, stated, “Jordan has witnessed a steady decline in software piracy rates since 2003 managing to reduce piracy to 58 percent, which is below the regional average for the very first time. Local anti-piracy efforts, led by the Department of the National Library under Director General Maamoun Talhouni and his team, have been the major contributors to increasing Intellectual Property awareness amongst businesses and educational facilities which has been vital in combating piracy.”
Zeid Shubailat, Country Manager of Microsoft Jordan, said, “Microsoft’s worldwide strategy for combating piracy is focused on the importance of educating the general public, our customers and partners on the risks associated with using or distributing pirated software. Our efforts aim to generate widespread awareness about the threats posed to people and businesses from using such software and hacked product keys that in many cases leads to loss of data and leaves PC’s and networks vulnerable and exposed to viruses, malware and spyware.“
Reducing software piracy in Jordan provides the country with various opportunities that include attracting local and foreign investment, creating more highly paid jobs, contributing to the socio-economic welfare of the country and creating a level playing field for businesses to compete fairly whilst focusing on providing customers the best value. On the other hand, piracy affects businesses by causing data loss due to corrupted files and viruses as well as legal liabilities for not complying with the Kingdom’s comprehensive copyright law.
The IT industry’s leading global market research and forecasting firm, IDC, released a study in January 2008 stating that reducing software piracy in Jordan could generate hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in economic growth, while increasing tax revenues to support local programs and services. A 10 percent decrease in software piracy over the next four years would create an additional 436 jobs, USD 47 million in local industry revenues and USD 14 million in additional tax revenues for federal, regional and local governments.
