The UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) has issued a fresh warning to those involved in illegally importing or selling satellite TV decoders in the country.

The ministry has issued letters instructing authorities in all ports of entry in the seven emirates to confiscate decoders that are imported illegally into the UAE.

It stated that such imports are a clear violation of the UAE’s copyright law 7 of 2002, Article 38, which stipulates that decrypting of pay TV channels are not allowed within or outside UAE.

Neighboring GCC countries will soon adopt similar measures that will curb the entry of illegal decoders into their country, a statement said. 

“We will not show any leniency to violators of Intellectual Property Rights; it is high time that traders and users of pirated and illegally imported decoders are held responsible for the consequences of their actions. We are putting in our best efforts to fight piracy comprehensively on all fronts by placing necessary barriers. We also call upon the general public to report to the MoE any cases of piracy that they are aware of,” said a senior Ministry of Economy official.

“With regard to the illegal import of satellite TV decoders, we would like to warn all parties involved in the illegal trade and distribution of decoder boxes to view pay TV channels without proper authorization from providers that they will face stringent enforcement of the copyright law. Moreover, the public needs to be aware that use of decoder boxes to view channels with content that is against the religious, cultural and moral values of the country, will also corrupt the minds of children. Our main goal is to create a conducive environment for foreign investors and safeguard the integrity of local businesses through strict enforcement and effective IPR regime, thus making UAE a model for IPR protection in the Middle East,” he added.

Commending the MoE’s efforts to curb piracy, Scott Butler, CEO of Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAA), said: “The stringent enforcement of copyright law by the authorities and their effective partnership with the Ministry of Interiors, and customs and enforcement authorities, has greatly contributed towards successful raids and appropriate legal action against offenders. We highly appreciate the efforts of the UAE authorities, including the MoE, Municipality and the police force, for their sustained battle to curb the menace of copyright piracy especially Pay TV and decoder box piracy in the UAE.”

Butler also pointed out that the AAA has assigned a specialized IT team to continuously manipulate IP addresses to block illegal viewing of pay TV channels, and trace and seize the violators, in collaboration with the authorities. “We are on an all-out effort to curtail piracy in the region, and our anti-piracy operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, in addition to the UAE, are showing encouraging results,” he said.-TradeArabia News Service