The first prison sentence has been handed down to a man for violating Saudi copyright law. The shop keeper who sold pirated movies was sentenced to 10 days in jail under the Copyrights Protection Law. The Director General of the General Administration for Copyrights, Rafiq Ibrahim Al-Aqeeli, said: “The shop will be closed for 60 days as part of the penalty after the administration agreed with the Board of Grievances to expedite implementation of the penalties.” Al-Aqeeli lauded the sentence and pointed out that the ministry had earlier referred two imprisonment penalties to the Board of Grievances. The second penalty is expected to be issued in the coming few weeks. The penalties are seen as hard evidence of the administration's intent to crack down on copyright violators and to protect authors' rights. Al-Aqeeli said the ministry has also started shaming violators in the newspapers. The Committee for Looking into Violations of Copyright Protection Law issued four such penalties – two for violators in Abha and two for video shop owners in Riyadh. The violator's names will be published at their expense on a quarter page notice in two newspapers one of which must be in their own region. The ministry hopes the sentences will force shop owners that sell intellectual properties to manage their shops closely instead of practicing “Tasattur”. If a copyright violation takes place, the only person who will be shamed or imprisoned is the shop owner himself. This penalty can be as much as six months or, in the case of a repeat violation, 12 months, according to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. Al-Aqeeli said the ministry wants everyone to respect the rights and property of others. He also warned that the ministry will act quickly to penalize and fine violators. People who break copyright law will be forced to pay compensation to the rightful copyright owners and their shops could be closed down temporarily or permanently. “The ministry is planning to make the shaming and imprisonment penalties more severe due to violators taking the penalty too lightly,” he said. The crackdown follows a number of complaints from local and international companies, with many American companies suing Saudis for illegal use of computer programs.
