231 websites that violate regulations and intellectual property rights will be blocked, the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) announced.
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) has announced that it recently identified 231 websites that violate intellectual property (IP) laws and will block them to prevent them from being browsed from the Kingdom. The announcement comes a week after WTO issued a statement questioning measures taken in the Gulf to combat piracy.
In a release on its web site, SAIP said that it had identified web sites that were involved in numerous violations, including “downloading and watching movies and series, directly broadcasting sites of encrypted sports channels, downloading books in PDF format sites, downloading and listening to music sites” that did not have “prior license or authorisation from the right holder”.
SAIP also reported that it detected “websites that are selling subscriptions for encrypted TV channels through software apps and illicit streaming devices (ISDs) to break barriers for the purpose of displaying materials in illegal ways”.
The Saudi authority added that these practices violate the copyright protection law and attract financial penalties and fines of up to 250,000 Saudi riyals (USD 66,000). In addition to the applied fines, the violation may cause the closure of the site, or the cancellation of the commercial license, and in some cases, lead to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or defamation at the account of the infringer and removing the infringement.
SAIP issued a statement claiming that “it will not tolerate the accountability of all those who violate the laws and regulations, nor will it condone these violations”.
It called upon citizens and residents to support those efforts to respect intellectual property rights through communicating via its official channels.
