Microsoft Gulf, along with Qatar Ministry of Justice, recently conducted raids on three Doha-based IT resellers and confiscated CDs and PCs loaded with counterfeit software, including Windows and Office.

Microsoft Gulf is a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the foremost advocate for the software industry.

"The Ministry of Justice is keen on ensuring that the steady economic growth being witnessed in Qatar at present is not compromised by acts of piracy that adversely affect the country’s IT sector," said Abdullah Ahmad Qayed, director of Intellectual Property Center, Qatar’s Ministry of Justice.

"These anti-piracy raids have sent a strong message that intellectual property rights violation of any kind will not be tolerated in the country. The Ministry of Justice will continue to extend all possible support to the concerned authorities to curb software piracy in Qatar," he added.

Jawad Al Redha, BSA chair in the Gulf region, said "The latest raid on three resellers in Doha will go a long way in sending a clear message to counterfeiters and IT resellers that any form of piracy will be firmly dealt with."-TradeArabia News Service