Saudi Arabia appears to have made its biggest move yet in the fight against piracy after its ruler waved through measures to tackle the illegal streaming of sports and movies - a step which many will welcome when it comes to the Newcastle United takeover.
The piracy of Premier League games from neighbouring Qatar appears to have been the biggest hold up to the sale of United to the Saudi backed Public Investment Fund.
But following several measures last month, King Salaman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud agreed on Tuesday to pass a memorandum through which the body tasked with tackling piracy say will help them solve the issue.
In a statement from the Kingdom's Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), it was explained that the new measure will now allow:
- To train and develop competencies
- To raise awareness of the value and importance of intellectual property
- To enhance respect for and enforcement of intellectual property
- To develop intellectual property processes and procedures.
It was also added that the measure would allow for 'enhanced competitive advantage and deepen friendship between the Kingdom and other countries'.
The website for the SAIP also now includes an option to file a lawsuit against any act of piracy.
This is the latest step from Saudi in the crackdown on piracy following the World Trade Organisation's report which concluded the Kingdom had not done enough to tackle the issue.
The report was carried out after Qatar raised the issue on behalf of its state-owned channel beIN Sports.
Given the Premier League several times tried to take legal action against those in Saudi for pirating games, the subject has left the legal team of the Premier League in a difficult position.
It is thought that following the measures made public last month by the Saudi government - which included the closing down of hundreds of sites found guilty of piracy - the Premier League were still waiting for assurances of just how serious the Kingdom was about sorting the issue out.
