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Software piracy costs India Rs 9 billion annually

Two in three software programs in India are stolen and the software piracy is causing an annual loss of more than Rs 9 billion in the country.

These software programs are stolen either through hard-disk loading or counterfeiting, according to Dewang Mehta, president, National Association of Software and Service Companies.

The results of the fifth annual benchmark survey on global software piracy showed that piracy losses in India exceeded Rs 9 billion at a piracy rate of 59 per cent. The survey, conducted by independent research for International Planning and Research Corporation, was commissioned by the Business Software Alliance and the Software and Information Industry Association.

The continuing piracy problem meant higher prices for consumers, less publisher revenue to invest in new products and a potential barrier to success for software start-ups in India.

''If software piracy continues unabated, the local Indian industry will be robbed of thousands of jobs, billions in wages, tax revenues and critical investments in new technologies,'' Mehta added.

Mehta said many chief executive officers, information technology managers and general managers are aware of the civil and criminal penalties for use of unlicensed software. Yet they continue to fail to act.

''Unfortunately, there are also businesses that deliberately install and use software without appropriate licenses. They risk becoming target of legal action,'' he said.

Software piracy refers to the illegal installation, distribution, sale and use of infringing software. If found liable under the Copyright Act, offenders risk criminal penalties of up to three years in prison and fines up to Rs 2,00,000 for the offence of copyright infringement.

NASSCOM and BSA would intensify efforts to stop this menace. ''We will continue to assist enforcement authorities to initiate action against individuals and businesses manufacturing, distributing, selling or using illegal products as we have done since 1994,'' Mehta said.

They would also continue to educate the public and the business sector of the effects and dangers of piracy through seminars and press releases.

NASSCOM and BSA have launched a 'reward programme' which would give Rs 50,000 to anyone for providing information leading to successful legal action against companies using unlicensed software, Mehta said.

Anyone could give this information on a hotline 1600334455.

Their campaign would educate the business sector, the community, the distribution channel and dealers about the importance of protecting intellectual property rights, both for the local economy and for the long-term prosperity of India's dynamic software industry. This would also be a notice to habitual pirates that they could not ignore the law.

UNI

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