128
anti-Piracy Hotline. In December 1993, SPA worked with the Singapore government
to raid four businesses dealing in bootlegged software. In addition to Southeast Asia
and the Far East, SPA is also actively collaborating with groups in Eastern Europe
and Latin America in order to initiate anti-piracy education and enforcement efforts.
NASSCOM has taken a leaf from Mr. Wasch’s books at the SPA and started the
Anti-Piracy Hotline in New Delhi. The NASSCOM Anti-Piracy Hotline provides
callers information on the legal use of software, sources from where software
products can be procured and reports alleged cases of software piracy.
Our belief however is that, litigation should not be the primary vehicle for
broadcasting the anti-piracy message. Fighting software piracy must be a combined
effort in terms of both education and enforcement of the copyright law.
In India, it is difficult to quantify the extent of revenue loss due to piracy but
conservative estimates put it at $45 million or Rs. 135 crore. To tackle the problem
of software piracy in India, a multifaceted approach is required. One approach is an
active litigation program against companies and individuals who are engaged in
software piracy. It is clear that piracy lawsuits would cause companies to give
more serious thought to the software practices they apply.
The other approach is one of generating public awareness, through educational
material, advertisements, seminars etc. The government and the industry can strive
to educate computer users about the Copyright Law and how to effectively manage
their software resources.
For the first approach, both the industry and the government have already started
initiating action. The government on its part has enthusiastically and willingly
amended the Copyright Act in line with the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) norms.
But more than legality, there is always a different way to look at piracy and that is
in terms of morality. Would you steal a software package from a retail store or a
shop? Of course not. You would not even think about it? So what makes software
“
copying” right?
Provided this fact is driven home, individuals and companies are likely to view the
issue as one of morality. That itself could prove to be the biggest deterrent to
software piracy in India.
n
