Cablegate: Microsoft Settles with Omani Software Pirates

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DE RUEHMS #0938 2810622
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R 080622Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8838
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000938

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STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/TPP/MTA/IPC
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COMMERCE PASS TO USPTO (PFOWLER)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR MU
SUBJECT: MICROSOFT SETTLES WITH OMANI SOFTWARE PIRATES

1. (U) On October 7, Econoff discussed Microsoft's conclusion
of an out-of-court settlement with four Omani companies
engaged in software piracy with Jawad al-Redha, Microsoft's
Gulf Anti-Piracy Manager and Co-Chair of the Business
Software Alliance. Redha noted that the settlement was the
product of over seven months of work in negotiating with the
violators, identified as al-Madina, al-Rafraf, al-Arabiya,
and World IT. Under the agreement, each company will pay
Microsoft USD 3,000 in compensation and pledge to refrain
from selling illegal software in the future.

2. (SBU) Redha expressed optimism that the agreement will
create momentum in enforcing IPR in Oman. He was quick to
point out that Oman's purported software piracy rate of 62%
was still high for the region, but that concerted efforts
such as this would help bring that statistic down several
percentage points each year. Redha said that improvements
need to be made on the public relations front in reaching
this goal. As an example, he noted that the press release on
the settlement was only published in the English-language
daily Oman Observer, and only after the government cleared on
text that did not include country-specific references. Redha
speculated that the publishers of Oman's Arabic-language
dailies, which declined to publicize the settlement, were
worried that they would lose advertising revenue from the
companies cited in the text of the announcement.

3. (SBU) Comment: Microsoft's settlement comes on the heels
of change in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the lead
Omani agency in promoting intellectual property rights.
Econoff learned on October 3 that the director of the
Intellectual Property Department has been reassigned to a
lower-level position in a different office of the ministry,
and that his deputy has been transferred to an unrelated
department as well. Post suspects that the director's
ineffectiveness during the implementation stage of the
U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement may have precipitated the
reshuffle. End comment.
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