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MANILA - The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines on Thursday launched an information campaign on the benefits of using licensed software in a bid to curtail software piracy in the private sector.
In a briefing, lawyer Allan Gepty, deputy director general of IPOPHL, said the agency along with the Business Software Alliance will survey companies - mostly engaged in information technology and business process outsourcing - on their software use.
Lawyer Bien Marquez, legal counsel of BSA, said the organization has received reports that only 10 percent of a certain outsourcing company's 500 to 1,000 computer units make use of licensed software.
"The importance of using licensed software and the dangers of utilizing illegal software will be highlighted in each visit. We believe it is important to highlight not just the advantages of utilizing legal software, but also the importance of protecting the intellectual property rights of its creators," said Gepty.
Organizations using bootlegged software will be given 30 days to comply with the law.
IPOPHL will recognize compliant companies, and refer violators to the Optical Media Board, National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police for further investigation and enforcement action, if necessary.
While the survey is voluntary, IPOPHL said invited companies that refuse to cooperate will be reminded to comply. If not, the agency will red flag the company for possible violations and forward this concern to enforcement agencies, Gepty said.
"You have to follow the law. With or without that survey, everyone is expected to follow the law. What we're just doing is reminding them," he added.
The education campaign may get a boost once the bill amending the Intellectual Property Code is enacted into law. The bill grants enforcement visitorial and inspection powers to the agency.
"With the enforcement power, the survey will no longer be voluntary. The companies will have no choice. If we will inspect their company, whether they like it or not, we will do the inspection," Gepty said.
"The immediate good result that we envision from this project is that while the Copyright Bill or the bill amending Intellectual Property Code is still pending we are already informing the public that this project will be a continuing one," he said.
Ricardo Blancaflor, IPOPHL director general, said the Philippine software piracy rate will become "substantially lower" with this educational campaign.
After staying at 69 percent from 2008 to 2010, software piracy inched up to 70 percent in 2011, translating to seven out of 10 computers containing unlicensed software.
"The 70 percent software piracy rate resulted to losses for the software industry in the amount of $338 million. That money could have easily been invested to the local economy, the local software industry," Marquez said.
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