Friday, October 24, 2008 2 detained in raid on companies accused of using pirated software
TWO persons, one a Canadian, were taken into custody yesterday following separate raids on three companies suspected to be running computers with pirated software.
A team from the Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) separately raided the firms and confiscated several computers.
The team, which came accompanied by a local representative of Autodesk Inc. and local NBI operatives, carried out the operation on the basis of a warrant issued by a Manila-based Regional Trial Court (RTC).
Autodesk holds intellectual property rights over AutoCad, a software used in computer-aided designs.
Renante Rosales and Gary Skrybalo were taken into custody by the team that was assigned to Kingmar, a furniture shop located in Mandaue City.
The firm is suspected to have used pirated versions of AutoCad in designing their furniture products for export.
NBI Central Visayas officials could not yet say whether charges will be filed against the two.
Among the other targets of the raid were the Jerome B. Posadas Architects and the Aster Engineering Works located on M.J. Cuenco Ave.
The partnership firm is based inside the Ayala FGU Center, a building located at the heart of the Cebu Business Park.
Judge Reynaldo Ros, in issuing the warrant, said “there are good reasons to believe that... copyright infringement has been committed.”
Based on the warrant, the firm was in possession of “complete and/or partially complete unauthorized reproductions or copies of Autodesk software.
NBI sources said 15 computers were confiscated from the firm.
The Aster Engineering Works, on the other hand, is located on M.J. Cuenco Avenue.
The national government is pushing for the full implementation of intellectual property protection laws, mainly to address the concern of the foreign business sector.
Executive Order 736, signed last June 21, created the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights and ordered that permanent IPR units be set up in various law enforcement agencies and selected government offices. (KNR)
