Pirated software seized in raid

MUMBAI, AUG 5: Pirated software worth US 5,89,000 was seized during raids across the country in the 12 months ended June 30, 1999. The ...

MUMBAI, AUG 5: Pirated software worth US 5,89,000 was seized during raids across the country in the 12 months ended June 30, 1999. The value of the software was calculated on the wholesale price rather than the retail price which is much higher, Ron Eckstrom, Asia vice-president and chairman of the Business Software Alliance BSA said on Thursday.

He was addressing a press conference organised by BSA and National Association of Software and Service Companies Nasscom at Mumbai. India has the fourth highest software piracy rate in the Asia-Pacific region after Vietnam, China and Indonesia, according to Laura Sallstrom, BSA Asia-Pacific director. Vietnam has the world8217;s highest piracy rate at 97 per cent, China has 95 per cent, Indonesia 92 per cent and India 60 per cent.

Sixty per cent of software sold in India last year was pirated resulting in losses of Rs 800 crore, according to Nasscom president Dewang Mehta. quot;We have decided to get tough and the coming months will witness a lot of action againstuse of pirated software by end-user organisations, especially the training institutions,quot; Mehta warned.

Over 65 per cent of complaints received on BSA-Nasscom anti-piracy hotline 011-6114971 in the last six months were related to piracy in end-user organisations. Of these, 50 per cent related to piracy in training institutions. The hotline has received 25,000 calls in the last five years.

The owners/directors of Lakhotia Computer Centre LCC, Noida, and LCC Infotech Ltd tendered an apology to BSA-Nasscom for charging fees for course while using unlicensed copies of software on computers at their centres, following a copyright infringement case against a franchisee of LCC Infotech in New Delhi. The apology letter was part of a settlement agreement filed with the Delhi High Court on May 27, 1999.

LCC Inoftech Limited has also signed an agreement with BSA and Nasscom to ensure all its franchisees use legal software on their computers and also legalise its internal business software. It has undertaken toinclude in all future franchisee agreements, a condition that the centres procure and use legal BSA and Nasscom member software. quot;Students trained on pirated software find it tough to get jobs abroad,quot; Lakhotia who was present at the conference, admitted.

Mehta said students needed to play a more pro-active role to ensure they were not being trained on pirated software. quot;They should take an undertaking that training will only be on being licensed software before getting admissions,quot; he cautioned. To help students identify centres using legal software BSA-Nasscom will issue an audit certificate for centres using 100 per cent legalised software.

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Nasscom has undertaken to reduce the privacy rate in the country to one of the lowest in the world by 2002. Currently, United States has the lowest piracy rate at 23 per cent.

INSIGHT:

School computers to cost less

MUMBAI: Computers will soon be available to schools for as low as Rs 20,000 under the Vidyarthi and Shikshak Schemes mootedby the national task force. The desktops will come pre-loaded with the free, open source linux operating system, Windows and MS Office, Dewang Mehta, Nasscom president and member of the task force said. However, the scheme would be implemented only after a new government was elected because of the code of conduct.