BSA looks for Govt tie-ups to fight piracy

India's software piracy rate stood at 74% in 2004. To fight this menace,
the Business Software Alliance (BSA), a global non-profit organization is
looking to increase relationships with trade bodies, government organizations
and enforcement agencies so that there are proactive measures to encourage the
use of legitimate software.

Speaking to CyberMedia News, Jeffery J Hardee, VP and regional director,
Asia-Pacific, BSA, termed it an irony that India which had gained global
recognition for software services exports , still witnessed a high rate of
piracy.

"Our studies show that Lower piracy rate is proportional to the IT
sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of any
country."

With this in mind, he said that BSA is pushing efforts for governments to
bring down piracy.

"Governments are robbed off tax revenues and reduced job opportunities
because of piracy." He also cited software piracy as a reason why India has
not made much progress in PC penetration and IT usage.

Hardee said that BSA's efforts had paid off in Taiwan, which saw a
significant reduction in piracy over the last few years thanks to co-branded
efforts with the Taiwanese Government.

In April this year, BSA and Nasscom together re-launched the piracy hotline
in India. Lavang Khare, marketing manager,  BSA, India, said that the
hotline received over a hundred calls since April of which 20 cases were filed.
The organization is directing efforts at educating the public.

On the issue of whether

BSA's efforts are seen as extremely confrontationist, Hardee said that
unless strong enforcement is in place, people would continue to turn a blind eye
to piracy.

PRIYA PADMANABHAN

(CyberMedia News)