UAE Ministry of Economy and Business Software Alliance launch country-wide anti-piracy campaign

The UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) and Business Software Alliance (BSA) have launched an anti-piracy initiative that aims to spread awareness about intellectual property rights (IPR) laws and the legal consequences of using and selling pirated and illegal software.

The month-long advertising campaign, which runs from March – April 2011, also highlights the negative impact of piracy to all members of society, particularly in terms of lost jobs.

“This comprehensive campaign includes all media outlets in the UAE because we wanted to reach out to as many individuals and organisations as possible,” said, Abdulla Al Hussain, Director of The Censorship Department at UAE MoE. “We believe that this is an excellent platform to complement the UAE’s stringent anti-piracy policies.”

Jawad Al Redha, BSA Chair, Gulf Region, said, “Through this campaign, we intend to create greater awareness about the adverse impact of using unlicensed software, both on the users and the economy as a whole. An important component of the anti-piracy campaign is to deliver strong and consistent legalisation messages in the UAE, aimed at promoting a legal and safe digital business environment and helping reap the benefits of a piracy-free society.”