Copy Cats & Copyright

"How about a designer Louis Vuitton bag for your wife! Only 10 Euros! It is a top quality fake!" cries one of the dozen shop sellers lining the narrow bazar passage. They are all selling the same array of fake branded designer leather bags,  copies of the latest model that appeared just a couple of months ago on the expensive shelves of Parisian shops. The more discerning fake buyer might add a few euros more for a higher standard fake.

It is amazing to see how many fake goods are being sold in traditional markets in most Middle Eastern and North African countries. Many fake goods are imported from China, while others are even manufactured locally.
In some countries certain business segments have become totally dysfunctional due to copyright infringement. This is especially the case for software industry. For example you probably will not be able find more than half a dozen shops in the big metropolis of Casablanca (with a population of 7.5 Millions) that carries original Microsoft Windows or Office products. Yet you can get hacked versions practically around every street block for a few dirhams. Even many large corporations use hacked versions of software which would cost hundreds of euros in Europe.
Religious values and ethics play an important role as well. Islamic Sharia'h has a comprehensive set of ethical rules and values. Many in the region follow such rules. For example, selling a fake good as an original would be considered cheating the buyer and would be considered committing a sin for the practicing muslim. Of course the more scrupulous  and materialistic seller wouldn't care much for such ethical issues. In my experience, I have rarely found sellers trying to hide the fact that the goods are fake. However, there is a grey zone for many when it comes to copyright infringement. Copyright and intellectual property rights are recent modern concepts. All MENA countries are signatories of most international copyright acts and conventions. Although this debate among Islamic scholars is not new, but only recently have they consolidated their position on this issue. Today Islamic scholars consider most copyright infringements to be equivalent to theft or cheating and therefore sinful.
Although people throughout the region have very strong brand awareness, there is a strong lack of understanding and acceptance of the concepts of copyright and intellectual property rights. Actually this is the case in much of Asia and Africa. Some countries lack strong legal protection in this area, while others lack law enforcement for their laws.
But a few countries such as the UAE have come a long way in the last few years and have introduced strict laws against copyright infringements, which are enforced with harsh punishments (large fines, imprisonment up to 9 months and loss of business licenses).
In many poorer developing countries, the authorities often close their eyes on such matters. They do this for 2 main reasons. Firstly, because they have more urgent priorities. Secondly, because putting too much restrictions at a mass consumer level will only antagonize the regime further from the broader population. This is bad politics, especially for the remaining more autocratic regimes.
However there are a number of steps that your company can take to protect their brands and intellectual property:

1. Determine first if similar products to what you would like to introduce are widely copied and distributed illegally already. For example if you are trying to market an Arabic version of a graphic design software, well you can be sure that it will be widely copied.
2. Secondly be sure that your brand, trade marks and intellectual properties are registered within your target countries. In my experience it is more worthwhile to get international coverage with WIPO (for selected countries), than directly with the local organization. WIPO based registration have more weight in case of dispute.
3. Get a competent local specialized property rights law firm to represent you. You need to spend some time on this to do a proper screening.
4. You need to actively monitor the market.
5. You need to decide on how far you want to pursue any copyright infringements. Not all cases are worth it, especially if you are targeting more vulnerable poorer segments of the market. It could cause a PR backlash on your firm and products.

Despite many challenges faced today by infringement on copyright today, the situation is improving in many MENA countries. It pays to play it safe and get proper protection and be vigilant, and as MENA economic growth perspective remain strong, the rewards you can reap can be great.

Useful references:
Book: Middle East And Arabic Countries Copyright Law Handbook (World Business, Investment and Government Library)