AMMAN - An Amman computer system builder has been sentenced to three months in prison for pirating software, the first time in the Kingdom's history that the court has imprisoned someone for software piracy.
Jordan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA) Vice Chairman Tawfiq Tabbaa said the system builder was selling hardware with unlicensed software.
An investigation by the rights holder, Microsoft, and government authorities led to a raid on the company, catching him in the act of hard-disk-loading the stolen software onto computers, according to Tabbaa.
A lawsuit was soon filed by Microsoft and Business Software Alliance (BSA), and the offender was brought before the Amman Court of First Instance.
The violation was so blatant, the court quickly handed down its decision earlier this month, according to Tabbaa, who serves as BSA's legal counsel. The system builder received a three-month jail term and was fined JD1,000.
"Really this is the minimum requirement of the law," Tabbaa told The Jordan Times.
The Jordanian Copyright Law stipulates that it is a crime to download software, music, or movies that are protected under the law. Offenders face a prison sentence between three months and three years and a fine ranging from JD1,000 to JD6,000.
"For us, this is an important event - obviously the software industry isn't out there to put people in jail. However, with piracy rates so high, we hope that this sentence will act as a deterrent," said Tabbaa.
Software piracy is widespread in Jordan, with copies of the latest software, movies, and music readily available downtown or from local street vendors. With relatively high prices of licensed products, many don't think twice about purchasing illegal copies.
The first quarter of 2007 saw 88 copyright infringement cases referred to the court, including 64 from Amman, 13 in Zarqa, and five from Irbid.
"It's normal. All computers comes with the software," Omar, a 21-year-old web designer, said.
"If I need a programme for work or school, I go to Gardens Street and get it for three dinars," he added.
When asked if he knew that there were laws against this practice, he responded, "I had no idea."
Abu Fahdi, 40, an Amman resident, was not impressed.
"The price of everything is going up - oil, meat, milk - why should I pay JD500 for something I can get for two?" he asked.
According to the BSA, the overall costs of piracy to the economy are much, much higher.
"The IT industry creates well-paying jobs and generates revenues, blatant violations can jeopardise these and threaten Jordan's position as a global ICT hub," warned BSA regional spokesman Ali Harakeh.
Decreased investment by multinational IT companies would not only mean a loss of jobs, but a loss of tax revenue for the government, according to Harakeh. The final cost of piracy is then placed on the consumer, who would have to carry burgeoning costs of security systems on new software.
The global IT sector contributes trillions and generates $900 billion in taxes worldwide. Jordan has spent the last decade building a strong IT sector to attract foreign investment and better the economy. Software accounts for 32 per cent of the Kingdom's IT sector, a number that is expected to reach over 55 per cent by 2009.
BSA, an international non- profit that assists governments and private sectors in highlighting software piracy, has been spearheading an on and off campaign in the Kingdom to spread awareness of intellectual property rights.
"Now is the right time to unveil a full-fledged national campaign to urge companies to respect intellectual property rights, and the impact violations of intellectual property rights can have on the ICT sector," stressed Harakeh.
According to him, BSA's Jordan's campaign is focusing on three pillars to promote using licensed products: Education, technology and enforcement. Of these three, enforcement is perhaps the most important.
"All the lawyers in the world couldn't help if there wasn't a deterrent for those who still think they can perpetrate and get away with it," Harakeh noted.
Many IT industry and intellectual property rights advocates across the Kingdom believe that the recent conviction can be a turning point.
"We hope that the sentence will be positive, enhancing Jordan's image and enforcing property rights - not only for multinationals, but for software companies based right here in Jordan," Tabbaa stressed.
By Taylor Luck
© Jordan Times 2007
