Destruction of more than 3 million works violating intellectual property rights in the Kingdom
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, in cooperation with the Ministry of Information, has confiscated and destroyed more than (3.5) three and a half million works violating intellectual property rights seized during the transitional phase of copyright jurisdiction from the Ministry of Information to the Saudi Authority. The seizures included copied and counterfeit books, satellite broadcasting devices and computer program storage devices, in addition to transcription devices for audio works, after the authority carried out inspection campaigns targeting various cities and regions of the Kingdom.
This comes from the functions and competencies entrusted to the authority according to its organization, and the authority has previously warned against promoting or trading any product that violates intellectual property rights, or any behavior that violates intellectual property regulations, and indicated the legal penalties resulting from those violations, stressing that it will not tolerate taking measures and measures. It is necessary to apply deterrent penalties in this regard, in order to effectively enforce intellectual property rights, especially in the field of copyright. The enforcement phase to respect intellectual property rights comes after the authority has implemented several awareness campaigns in partnership with relevant authorities to raise awareness of respect for intellectual property rights.
During the destruction process, the authority, in cooperation with the Ministry of Information and the relevant authorities, was able to recycle nearly one million pieces of intellectual property rights to avoid the harmful environmental effects of destroying these works and in accordance with the best practices that preserve and take into account the environment and human health.
The CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al-Suwailem, stated that the process of destroying infringing works is not the only punishment that the violator of intellectual property regulations receive, and this is in accordance with international agreements to which the Kingdom is bound.
Al-Suwailem added, “Based on the role of the authority in promoting respect for intellectual property and its enforcement and achieving transparency in the local and international community in the implementation of rulings and decisions, we are completing our efforts in addressing works that violate intellectual property rights in the Kingdom by destroying and recycling them in cooperation with stakeholders to preserve and protect the environment.” From the damages of destroying those works that are infringed by traditional methods that conflict with the environmental protection regulations applied by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The authority stressed that it will not tolerate taking the necessary measures and measures to hold violators accountable in all areas that the authority is concerned with protecting its rights, and called on citizens and residents to support efforts to respect intellectual property rights by communicating with the authority’s official channels through the communication sites