AMMAN — The National Library Department (NLD) confiscated more than 183,000 pirated DVDs, CDs and books in 2013, a 10 per cent increase compared with 2012, according to NLD Director General Mohammad Abbadi.
The number of Intellectual Property Rights violators the department referred to court also increased from 467 in 2012 to more than 480 in 2013, Abbadi said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times.
“The majority of the cases we referred to court are repeat offenders. In 2013, we succeeded in arresting owners of stores that produce pirated CDs and DVDs. We had major operations that helped us seize more pirated items,” he added.
More than 60 per cent of the pirated items are video games, Abbadi said, adding that they also included movie DVDs and CDs.
“We witnessed a huge drop in the number of pirated movie and music CDs and DVDs in 2013 because many people get these online nowadays.”
Amman continued to account for the lion’s share of trading in pirated content in 2013, followed by Irbid and Zarqa, according to the NLD director general.
“Trading in pirated software in general dropped significantly because smuggling from Syria was halted completely. The majority of pirated software came from Syria in the past, but not a single CD is entering Jordan from Syria into now because of the situation there.”
Monitoring at the borders has also been intensified after customs personnel were trained on the Copyright Law and how to identify pirated items, Abbadi noted.
The Jordanian Copyright Law stipulates that it is a crime to download software, music or movies that are protected under the legislation.
Offenders face a prison sentence of between three months and three years and a fine ranging from JD1,000 to JD6,000. The government loses about JD5 million annually in revenues, as traders of pirated items do not pay taxes or fees.
