Business Software Alliance (BSA), the international association established by the software industry to promote a safe and legal digital world, has today (Thursday, April 26, 2007) united with international organisations to celebrate the 2007 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Day, an initiative designed to educate the public about how the protection of IPR nurtures creativity, prosperity and a knowledge-based economy.

The Alliance has praised the UAE’s Ministry of Economy (MoE) for its support in upholding IPR and anti-piracy legislation and its efforts are predicted to increase private sector investment, technology transfer and economic growth for the region.

“We are proud to be recognised for our commitment to strengthening our IPR initiatives by offering our full support in curbing illegal software distribution and implementing tough new anti-piracy laws. Illegal software distribution is one of the most common forms of IPR abuse and this black market menace destroys a valuable source of economic revenue and destroys thousands of jobs that are employed by the ICT industry to make safe and legal software products,” said Juma Al Leem Director of Censorship Department, UAE.

The IPR Day is being celebrated worldwide today, in recognition of the continuing efforts by organisations and governments to facilitate and encourage the pursuit of innovation and the disclosure of knowledge into the public domain for the common good. Broadly defined, IPR refers to the various entitlements legally owed to certain names, media and inventions that are entitled to exercise exclusive rights in relation to their product.

“Today we are recognising the creative and innovative talents on which our future is built and we hope to garner as much support as possible to encourage the public to respect and encourage IPR. We are also encouraging the public to recognise the importance of IPR by consciously avoiding purchasing or downloading illegal software, to help ensure that the creators and designers of these products get the full benefits they deserve,” commented Jawad Al Redha, Co Chairman Middle East, BSA.



Statistics from Madar research indicates that the UAE’s ICT industry is booming, with an increase in both computer and internet users driving the industry to be worth more than $915 million by the end of 2008. A recent BSA piracy report also highlighted that the MENA region was one of only two worldwide regions that were witnessing a decrease in the software piracy rate, based on government and industry action and the popularity of branded laptops.

BSA, operating in association with Microsoft as a BSA member and relevant government authorities, regularly launches awareness campaigns and anti-piracy raids throughout the region to endorse IPR and anti piracy initiatives. Advantages of using original software are promoted in the campaigns, in terms of technical support, regular updates, computer performance, greater data security and economic benefits.

BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace BSA helps governments and consumers understand how software strengthens the economy, worker productivity and global development and how its further expansion hinges on the successful fight against software piracy and Internet theft. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce.
BSA members include: 4D, Adobe, Agfa-Monotype, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, BVRP Software, Centennial, Cisco Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Grupo SP, Entrust, HiT Internet Technologies, HP, IBM, iInventory, Intel, Intergraph, Internet Security Systems, Intuit, LMS International, Macromedia, Magix, Mamut, McAfee, Microsoft, Microstar, Nemetschek, O&O Software, OWG, Panda Software, Realviz, RSA Security, SIA, SolidWorks, Staff & Line, Sybase, Symantec, TeamSystem, Trend Micro, UGS PLM Solutions, VERITAS Software, Visma, WRQ.