Intellectual Property Day
Today was the World’s Intellectual Property day, a day to celebrate innovation and promote respect for intellectual property. Unfortunately, in Oman intellectual property is barely respected. Oman is a member of WIPO and the WTO, but still, our IP is mostly sweet talk and does not exist in practice. Pirated games and software are widely spread in large shopping malls and small markets alike. Pirated DVDs are sold outside cinema theatres in Ruwi. Trademark infringing phone covers are sold in all mobile phone stores. We have no such thing as patent registration.
Our culture traditionally does not promote innovation or creativity. It considers many forms of art as either useless, haram, or even gay. Fine arts, music, and creative performances are looked down upon. There is barely such a thing as Omani novelists, Omani scientists, or Omani thinkers. Most of our school books are written by Egyptians and Sudanese school teachers who barely know anything about our culture. Our laws are written by Egyptians who barely know anything about our culture.
The majority of people in Oman do not have any respect for intellectual property, many people think that it is fine to infringe the copyright of software made by Microsoft because Microsoft is American. The highest educational institute in the country, Sultan Qaboos University, has its computers loaded with pirated software. IT supervisors in SQU tell students that the West stole algebra from us, so we have the right to steal 3D Studio Max.
I can’t think of a single positive thing to write about intellectual property in Oman. We cannot celebrate innovation in this country, probably because we don’t have any of it yet.
