Special police to fight copyright infringement in Algeria

Algerian Police has created 15 specialised brigades to protect intellectual and economic property in an attempt to counter its infringement in some provinces.

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• Director of judicial police Ladj Rabeh said Algeria’s security department gives considerable care to that phenomenon in view of its negative impacts on public health and treasury.
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• “The Police’s role is preventive in the first place,” he asserted Thursday in an official ceremony in Algiers.
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• Some 25 police officers in Algeria have been training in the fight against infringement of intellectual and economic property.
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• Ladj believes that the infringement of intellectual and industrial property is a “crime which needs a comprehensive study.”
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• He called it an “organized crime” as security investigations have shown that suspects are working within organized networks.
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• Official figures say the police seized 13,000 and about 9,000 cassettes following 227 cases of infringement in Algeria.
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• On the other hand, no case was recorded regarding books in 2008 compared to 4,000 last year.