SW piracy needs to be tackled differently

If there is one thing, which the channel community has strong reservations
about, it has to do with software piracy. The increasing use of force as an
intimidating tactic by software majors is having a totally opposite effect on
the community. It is actually backfiring on these majors. Far from being
intimidated, by these tactics, the community is getting even more determined to
fight it out.

The trigger has come from the recent Delhi High Court judgment, which awarded
close to

Rs 24 lakh as damages to Microsoft from a Delhi-based channel partner. This
partner was allegedly caught with pirated software one year back, following
which a case was filed against him. The amount awarded as penalty by the court
will mean that this partner will find it very difficult to get back on his feet.

The concerned partner even approached PCAIT, the association of Delhi's
channel community, for help but wasn't entertained at all as after all it was a
legal matter. PCAIT executive council gave him a patient hearing but at the same
time explained to him that since he was caught indulging in piracy, the
association would not be in a position to do anything.

However, this case, which has wider ramifications for the channel community
at large, has set the bell ringing in the association. It has now decided to
conduct awareness sessions to educate members regarding piracy. The idea is to
make the small dealers and resellers aware of the consequences of indulging in
piracy and how it can damage their business in the long run.

But one thing, which the association, the software majors and industry as a
whole is not considering as to why does piracy happens. Everybody talks about
intellectual property rights and the need to protect it, but nobody talks about
why it is happening in the first place. Until and unless this issue is addressed
from the bottoms up, it will always remain a big issue.

It is not that the channel partners want to indulge in piracy. They are
forced by their customers to do it. No customer wants to buy genuine legal
software because of the high cost involved. He expects the reseller to load a
variety of software without any charge. And if the reseller refuses, he runs the
risk of losing that business. So, he has no choice other than to comply with
customer's demand.

No doubt, the root cause of piracy is absurdly high prices of software and
that too at a time when PC prices have breached the Rs 10,000 mark. When a
person buys a PC for Rs 10,000, he is unlikely to pay another Rs 5,000 for
Windows. It just doesn't make sense to him.

In the process, the dealer is caught between the devil and the deep sea. He
has no escape route. So, raiding dealers is hardly the right way to tackle
piracy. It would mean just a small dent. If software majors really want to
tackle piracy, they need to first offer realistic prices for their software and
at the same time educate users about the benefits of using genuine software.
Only then will software piracy show rapid decline.

Asim Raina