Business Software Alliance (BSA), a leading advocate for the software industry, said it has launched anti-piracy training sessions for inspectors working for the UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) and other government authorities.

The initiative is aimed at reducing the economic impact of software piracy by combining both education and enforcement strategies, said a BSA statement.

“The ministry includes anti-piracy efforts among its key priorities and looks forward to partnering more with the BSA to make our law makers and law enforcers more capable of addressing this crime,” said Abdullah Al Hussain, director of the Censorship Department, UAE Ministry of Economy.

Jawad Al Redha, BSA chair, Gulf Region said it was important that inspectors and other key government authorities were taught the proper skills in handling software piracy cases as they ultimately recommend and enforce the appropriate disciplinary actions.

'Initiatives such as these contribute towards achieving a collaborative approach to the piracy problem,' he added.

Al Redha said BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade, and e-commerce.

BSA member companies invest billions of dollars every year in local economies, good jobs, and next-generation solutions to help people around the world 'be more productive, connected, and secure,' he added.

The members list includes Adobe, Altium, Apple, Asseco Poland S.A., Attachmate, Autodesk, Aveva, Bentley Systems, CNC, Corel, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, DBA Lab, Mamut, Microsoft, NedGraphics, Progress Software, O&O Software, Scalable Software, Siemens, Symantec, Tekla and The MathWorks.-TradeArabia News Service