Egypt still has a long way to go to enforce intellectual property rights, reports Sherine Nasr If you're heading to the States don't be surprised if your laptop or IPod is searched for audio and video content. Such examinations will soon be common practice, not only in the States but in other countries. And what are they looking for? Illegal copies of music, film, video or any other form of artistic or literary creations. The process is part of a package of measures designed to combat infringements of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Music, literature, artistic works as well as symbols, and trademarks used in commerce are all included. "Technological advances in our digital era have made it almost impossible to prevent infringements, not only because the crime has become so rampant but also because the counterfeits are extremely clever that it becomes hard to tell the difference," said Louise Van Greunen of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) during a two-day conference that opened in Cairo on 9 November. WIPO, a United Nations agency specialised in applying intellectual property (IP) systems to promote economic development, joined representatives from 13 Arab countries and international organisations at the conference to discuss collective measures to protect IP. The problem must be tackled both regionally and internationally. According to Greunen 42 per cent of software is illegal. Sony has 350 permanent employees whose job is to track counterfeit goods while Nintendo lost an estimated $720 million in sales in 2007. While global losses as a result of piracy are massive, in Egypt the situation is compounded by the pirating of satellite TV channels. "Rebroadcast of satellite channels is done through illegal networks, via the Internet or by smart card and control word sharing," says Ahmed Abdel-Gawad, director of the piracy combating unit at the Arab Media Corporation (ART). Typically, he says, the infringer subscribes to the most popular channels and then rebroadcasts them to an unlimited number of illegal subscribers. The number of illegal cables in Egypt, says Abdel-Gawad, is estimated at one million. Subscription fees are around LE20 per household, with some illegal providers netting income of LE20 million a month. "Piracy-related losses by satellite channels in Egypt are estimated at LE100 million a month, in addition to the losses of movie copyright owners." The problem, adds Abdel-Gawad, extends beyond Egypt's borders. Worldwide movie losses in 2005 were thought to have exceeded $18.2 billion. The good news is that Egypt has been removed from the Priority Watch List after incidents of piracy fell by 40 per cent in 2007. "It is a good step forward. We hope it will translate into more direct investments coming to Egypt," said Tarek Kamel, minister of telecommunication and information technology. He argues that Egypt has every reason to secure IPR in order to boost development -- the telecommunication and Information technology sector has been growing at an annual rate of between 20 and 25 per cent -- and create jobs. Egypt is now established as one of the region's most important outsourcing destinations. "Combating piracy and any other form of infringement of IPR will reflect positively on a sector in which we have great comparative advantages," says Kamel, adding that commitment to IPR laws is a priority of international corporations seeking to do business in Egypt. The challenges Egypt faces in protecting IPR are enormous. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recently announced that four billion users of cell phones now have Internet access. "This fact incurs tremendous challenges. Cyber space is moving fast and electronic crimes are progressing rapidly. We have to shield our products through applying strict rules," says Kamel. Egypt issued an IPR law in 2002 and ratified executive statutes in 2005. Although the law complies with the terms of the Trade Related Aspects of IP Agreement (TRIPS) the devil, as always, is in the detail. Egyptian courts have been repeatedly criticised for being slow and bureaucratic while the penalties they impose are far too low to deter copyright piracy. The Minister of Justice should step in and ensure that courts impose penalties that actually deter piracy, argued the International Intellectual Property Alliance's 2008 Special 301 report on Egypt. Other vital measures include easing restrictions on market access. Legitimate right holders are hampered by the number of licences and permissions they must obtain before their work can be imported into the country. They must pay sales tax on imported films and sound recordings and pay a censorship certificate release fee on foreign films. Egypt's estimated trade losses due to copyright piracy have reached $49 million in business software compared to $28 million in 2004. The loss on books is estimated at $32 million and on music at $15 million, compared to $30 million and $7.5 million for the same years.
