JEDDAH - A new specialized television channel that aims to spread awareness in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East about commercial counterfeiting and video and computer software piracy is planned to broadcast soon.
The announcement was made by Ahmad Al-Zubaidi, executive president of Hemaya Universal, the first company in the Middle East to concern itself with creating awareness about piracy.
Al-Zubaidi said that according to the reports published by the World Trade Organization (WTO) the international economy has been rapidly affected by the spread of commercial counterfeit and piracy. He added that the latest estimates reveal that the Kingdom's national economy had lost SR15 billion last year because of this phenomenon.
Hemaya Universal, which was established two years ago in Jeddah, is aiming to reduce counterfeit in the Kingdom from 30 percent to 56 percent within the next five years.
Al-Zubaidi said that piracy is considered to be the crime of the century because it threatens creativity and minimizes productivity. Piracy also threatens the well being of consumers especially when medicine, food and car parts are produced by counterfeit means.
With an aim of tackling the problem, Al-Zubaidi added that his company had signed an agreement with Saudi customs to train 6,000 customs employees working at the 33 custom entrances across the Kingdom.
He noted that the company would act as a link between local and international companies and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He also added that Hemaya have opened a number of branches in major cities around the Kingdom and in Dubai, and are looking to open offices in Egypt, Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East.
Al-Zubaidi said that the main goal is to develop awareness of the issue among consumers in order to equip them with knowledge about counterfeit products. That is where the role of the new television channel comes.
He added that the company is also conducting a study with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Supreme Economic Council to establish a new commission to prevent commercial counterfeit in the Kingdom especially since the Kingdom became a member of the WTO.
He said that after monitoring the market they have found that Saudi products are the least likely to be duplicated. He added that most counterfeit and pirated items come from China, Taiwan, Thailand and other South East Asian countries.
By Galal Fakkar
© Arab News 2006
