Blue Chi’s

I have written and talked about the situation of intellectual property in Oman so many times, I am wondering if it is time for someone to take action and try to start doing something about it. I think that society doesn’t have much appreciation for copyright, patents, or trademarks, and I think that this is a serious issue because intellectual property plays a big impact in everything around us, from ensuring that the medicine we buy from the pharmacy is genuine, to the protection of consumers from misleading brand names. The protection of intellectual property is also obviously necessary for encouraging the creation of literary and artistic works – which we obviously do not have much of made by Omanis in Oman (movies, music, or computer software).

The current situation is complex because Oman does have in a decent intellectual property law, it is a member of the WTO, and has signed a free trade agreement with the USA. Yet, this all this legal code remains theoretical as it is very difficult to enforce intellectual property on the internet, and it is unrealistic to ask people to stop downloading movies, music, games, and applications from the internet when there isn’t a legitimate way for acquiring these copyright works.

A great number of people do not also realist that they do not need to infringe copyright when they can use open source applications or creative commons licensed works. The few creators of original works in Oman, such as photographers, are obsessed about claiming copyright protection and do not realise that society could also benefit more by making their works available through creative commons or alternative licenses. Businesses, in Oman and abroad, also still do not realise that old business models do not necessarily work in the age of the internet as people want to have what they want instantaneously or otherwise they will get the first free download they find.

It is such a shame even with the growth of micro-payments and independent developers and content producers, we still do not have proper Omani iPhone applications or anything of that sort – because the majority of users in Oman pirate applications, music, and everything else – making it impossible for developers to be able to invest in creating local products which are representative of our identity and culture.

I do not think that having stricter copyright law enforcement would be the solution – you cannot stop people from pirating on the internet, but we need to think of a solution to help provide an incentive for people to create while providing consumers with proper access to content. Maybe copyright law is outdated, maybe businesses need to adapt to new business models, but we cannot remain a society of mass consumption that does not contribute by making anything in return. I think that intellectual property is the key that touches on old and new media, classical arts and modern computer graphics, science and art, and every other aspect of life.

The only body in Oman with a mandate relating to intellectual property is the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, but I think it is clear that what it is doing is not enough at all. So my idea here is to establish a formal association for intellectual property that aims to raise the awareness of the importance of intellectual property, provide information to small businesses on how to profit from copyright works, advise policymakers on how to develop a fairer copyright law that reflects the current values of society, and promote the use of creative commons and open source licenses among other things.

What do you guys think? Would there be any point in attempting to support the cause? How hard do you think it would be to find supporters for the idea and how difficult would it be to form an association in accordance with the procedures of the Ministry of Social Development?