Microsoft Gulf, in collaboration with Kuwait Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has announced that it has recently conducted a raid against a suspected illegal IT reseller distributing counterfeit Microsoft software in Hawalli, Kuwait. In its capacity as a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the international association established by the software industry to promote a safe and legal digital world, Microsoft provided key information that helped Kuwaiti authorities identify and raid the illegal trader. Among the items seized during the raid were 16 CDs containing illegal software. The raid was conducted as part of ongoing joint efforts by the Ministry, Microsoft and BSA aimed at further enhancing the IT performance of Kuwait and optimizing the country's revenues from the rapidly growing IT sector. Rasha Al-Sabah, IPR manager, Kuwait, said: “There is no let up in our efforts to eradicate piracy in the country. We are thus grateful to Microsoft and BSA for their continued support to our anti-piracy program, which has helped us substantially boost our success rate in tracking down and seizing illegal IT resellers. It is our message to the whole IT community that Kuwait will strictly implement its intellectual property rights laws with the help of our local and international partners.” “The successful collaborative efforts with the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce and Industry are proof of BSA's uncompromising commitment to help governments in their continued fight against piracy. The Kuwait government recognizes that a piracy-free society delivers huge benefits, particularly on the economic front, as it will significantly boost foreign investments into the country,” said Jawad Al- Redha, BSA co-chairman in the Middle East. “We also seek to deliver a strong message that the use and trade of unlicensed software can lead to harsh penalties, including the closure of a business firm for a limited period of time, on top of long-term damage to reputation and substantial financial costs. We have also expanded our efforts to include legalization campaigns in key markets to highlight the benefits of a safe and legal IT community, and encourage all firms to take advantage of the great rewards of being a legal IT reseller,” Al Redha added. The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace BSA helps governments and consumers understand how software strengthens the economy, worker productivity and global development and how its further expansion hinges on the successful fight against software piracy and Internet theft. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. __
