58% of installed software in Jordan pirated

Jordan ranked 50th globally out of 144 countries in software piracy, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2013 Global Information Technology Report. Unlicensed software units as a percentage of total software units installed stood at 58 per cent in Jordan, according to the recently released report. At the Arab level, Jordan came fourth, after the UAE, which came in first, followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom came ahead of Kuwait, Egypt, Oman, Turkey, Morocco and Lebanon. According to the piracy figures, for which 107 countries presented data, the US came in first place with only 19 per cent unlicensed software units used out of the total installed, followed by Luxemburg and Japan, 20 per cent and 21 per cent respectively. Zimbabwe came in 107th, with a 92 per cent prevalence of unlicensed software. In terms of protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), Jordan ranked 39th at the global level. On a scale of one to seven, with seven indicating very strong protection of IPR, Jordan scored 4.5, according to the report. Jordan ranked sixth among Arab states in IPR protection, preceded by Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain respectively. It was followed by Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt, Libya and Lebanon, the survey showed. Finland topped the list, with a 6.3 score, followed by Singapore and New Zealand. Commenting on the report, Mohammad Abbadi, director general of the National Library Department (NLD), expected further improvements in upcoming international reports measuring IPR protection. "We are in the process of increasing our inspection teams to crack down on those violating IPR…This year, we intensified our raids on stores selling pirated software," he said over the phone on Tuesday. "I expect that our ranking will continue to improve as we are working on a plan to reduce software piracy in Jordan to less than 50 per cent by the end of 2015," Abbadi noted. He added that a series of workshops will be held in May in the northern and central regions to educate judges on IPR laws and the need for enforcement to end trading in pirated software. A workshop will be held in the southern region in October, he said. The Jordanian Copyright Law stipulates that it is a crime to download software, music or movies that are protected under the legislation. Offenders face a prison sentence of between three months and three years and a fine ranging from JD1,000 to JD6,000. The NLD referred 120 IPR violators to court during the first quarter of this year, 15 per cent higher than the cases referred during the same period in 2012, according to the department. Source: The Jordan Times