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Monday, October 10, 2005
Anti-software piracy drive gets public support
THE Business Software Alliance (BSA)-Philippines reported a positive response from the public with its campaign on anti-software piracy.
“During the 30-day countdown of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team from Aug. 17 to Sept. 15, calls to the BSA anti-piracy hotline increased from an average of 40 calls a month to over 200 calls received during this period,” Lulette Alipio, director of Client Services Perceptions Inc., the public relations arm of BSA-Philippines, said in an interview.
She said they also received a substantial number of additional reports and inquiries through the BSA- Philippines website, www.bsa.org/philippines.
BSA is a non-profit international association of the world’s leading software manufacturers, such as Microsoft, Symantec and Adobe.
Countdown
The Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team, composed of the National Bureau of Investigation, Optical Media Board and the Philippine National Police, together with the Intellectual Property Coalition and BSA, launched a 30-day countdown for companies to legalize any unlicensed software they may have.
A series of nationwide raids is expected after the countdown.
Those found guilty of violating the Intellectual Property Code (RA 8293) or the Optical Media Act (RA 9239) may face imprisonment of up to nine years.
“We have not found reports to be concentrated on any one particular industry type. In fact, companies belonging to a broad range of industries, including business process outsourcing, engineering, manufacturing, creative, finance and architectural sectors have been reported to the BSA hotline,” Alipio added.
To encourage the public to participate in the campaign, BSA advertised a P1-million reward for those who would report companies that use, sell or distribute unlicensed software to the BSA hotline leading to a successful enforcement action against a corporate end-user.
Alipio, however, did not mention any individual who got the award.
The BSA global software piracy study last year indicated that 71 percent of the computer softwares used in the Philippines were illegal and had cost the industry some P3.7 billion in losses. (ALC)
(October 10, 2005 issue)
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