running Saudi television comedy Tash Ma Tash have been ordered to pay SR1.3 million in compensation to former colleague Amer Al-Hamoud in an intellectual property rights dispute over the name of the series, Al-Hayat daily reported Tuesday. The ruling, made by the Ministry of Culture and Information, also ordered plaintiff Al-Hamoud and defendants Nasser Al-Qasabi and Abdullah Al-Sadhan to each pay SR15,000 to the state. According to Al-Hayat, actors Al-Qassabi and Al-Sadhan owed Al-Hamoud compensation for “exploiting the name of the series for their own interest without obtaining written approval from the owner”. They were barred from using the name in the future without permission from Al-Hamoud. The actors of the comedy series, which has been running for 17 years and is shown each day in Ramadan, are expected to appeal the ruling at the Board of Grievances, while Al-Hamoud himself was equally dissatisfied. “I consider myself a partner of the other two stars,” Al-Hayat reported him as saying, believing himself worthy of compensation reflecting that status. The ministry's violations committee, however, said the claims were not supported by any documentation, and instead awarded him SR100,000 for each series from series 4 to 16. The verdict was approved by the Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja.
