RP-wide drive vs software piracy launched

MANILA - The nationwide campaign against the proliferation of unlicensed software in business establishments kicked off in Makati City Thursday because most of the raids conducted by government agencies last year were located in the country’s financial capital, according to National Bureau of Investigation Director Nestor Mantaring.

“Most of the NBI software piracy raids were against businesses here in Makati City. The others were in Ortigas Center and Alabang,” he told reporters in a forum.

The nationwide crackdown will begin on March 27.

The forum, which was attended by Mantaring, Optical Media Board (OMB) Chair Ronnie Ricketts and Chief Supt. Francisco Don Montenegro, director of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, was for the launching of this year’s Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT) information campaign.

PAPT, which began in 2005, is a collaborative program between the government and private sector to get rid of pirated goods in the market like software, counterfeit merchandise and other goods violating the intellectual property code.

Ricketts, meanwhile, asked business owners to apply for the licensing of their illegal software during the grace period.

“We are determined to hunt down software copyright violators,” he said.

Mantaring expressed concern over rampant software piracy in the country despite government efforts to curb it. Citing a 2008 study, he said that around 7 out of 10 computers were using unlicensed software.

But Bien Marquez III, a consultant of the private sector group Business Software Alliance, lauded the steps the government was taking against piracy, saying the current situation was an improvement compared to the late 1990s.

He said that since PAPT’s inception in 2005, it has already seized over P404 million worth of equipment and discs from business establishments found to be using unlicensed software. Last year, 16 raids were conducted, leading to the seizure of pirated software worth around P95 million.

“Businesses must abide with intellectual property laws, including the use and sale of licensed and legal software,” Mantaring said.

For his part, Ricketts said the agency would continue its “corporate routine inspections” in which agents conduct random checks on establishments to check their computers. The official said the operations were within the boundaries of the optical media law.

“During the inspections, our agents check the software installed, compare the installations with the license and refer them to our legal department for possible legal actions or legalization requirements,” he said.

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