• Home
• Telecoms & IT
• News Article

Microsoft Gulf coordinates with Bahrain Ministry of Information on latest software piracy offensives in Manama

Raids in the capital city lead to confiscation of 120 pirated CDs, desktop computers

Microsoft Gulf , a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the leading global organisation that is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace, has announced successful anti-piracy raids by the Bahrain Ministry of Information (MoI) on two resellers operating in Manama. The offensives highlighted Bahrain's comprehensive nationwide anti-piracy program and its thrust to make the capital city in particular a model of a piracy-free environment.

Seized during the raids were a total of 120 CDs containing pirated software along with desktops loaded with counterfeit Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003. A series of similar Microsoft -assisted raids have been conducted in Manama in the past months to discourage further selling of pirated software in high-visibility areas. In September 2008, the Bahrain Ministry of Information ordered the public destruction of thousands of unlicensed CDs to emphasize its commitment to eventually eradicating software piracy throughout the country.

"Bahrain is in the process of transforming itself into a regional IT hub; this goal will not be attained if we allow the capital city itself to be the base of resellers of illegal software. We value the assistance of Microsoft Gulf and organizations such as the Business Software Alliance in feeding us information that can help us track down sources of pirated software. We will continue to conduct and even intensify such raids to ensure that we secure a safe and productive environment for local and foreign stakeholders in our rapidly growing IT sector," said Jamal Dawood, Director of Publication, Bahrain Ministry of Information .

The Bahrain Ministry of Information upholds the anti-piracy principles contained in the Memorandum of Understanding it maintains with the Business Software Alliance to broaden initiatives to curb copyright infringements against the domestic software sector. Bahrain has been steadily controlling software piracy rates through stronger copyright legislation as well as productive partnerships with the private sector.

"We are concerned that the Microsoft Office suite still continues to be rampantly sold as a pirated product. We would like to remind organizations knowingly using unlicensed versions of this software that their company is an accomplice to piracy and thus faces legal sanctions. While we understand that these trying economic times place greater pressure on businesses to control costs, resorting to criminal practices such as installing unauthorized software is not a solution," concluded Jawad Al Redha, BSA Co-Chairman in the Gulf Region.

-Ends-

About Microsoft Gulf
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft Gulf opened its Dubai-based headquarters in 1991. Microsoft Gulf today oversees Microsoft activities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Yemen. Microsoft Corporation's address on the World Wide Web is: www. Microsoft .com Microsoft Middle East's Web site is: www.microsoft.com/middleeast.

About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organisation dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programmes foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include: Adobe, Altium, Apple, Attachmate, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, CNC, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Embarcadero, Famatech, FrontRange Solutions, Mamut, Materialise Software, Microsoft , Mindjet, NedGraphics, O&O Software, Quark, Ringler-Informatik, Scalable Software, Siemens, Staff & Line, Symantec, Tekla and The MathWorks.

For further information, please contact:
Orient Planet PR & Marketing Communication
PO Box 23345, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 3988901
Fax: +971 4 3988941
Email: info@orientplanet.com
Website: www.orientplanet.com

© Press Release 2009