Business Software Alliance (BSA), the international association established by the software industry to promote a safe and legal digital world, has initiated a fresh awareness and educational campaign jointly with regional authorities, stepping up its ongoing efforts to reduce software piracy in the Middle East by informing the public about the negative repercussions of using and trading in unlicensed software.
The campaign involves holding a series of training programmes, seminars and conferences to influence consumer and businesses behaviour and to increase awareness about the advantages of using original software products, among various sections of society across the region. Move comes in line with BSA’s goal of creating a secure and legal environment for the growth and development of the regional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.
The BSA campaign comes at a time when the region is witnessing increased adoption of ICT by home-users, educational institutions and public and private sector organisations. Recent Madar Research data reveals that the number of Internet users in the Middle East grew by 54.84 per cent to touch 26 million while the computer installed base expanded to 14 million computers, reflecting a 29.24 per cent increase in 2005. However, BSA argues that high levels of software piracy offset the benefits associated with increased levels of ICT usage.
“BSA remains at the forefront of the drive against pirated software. Our latest awareness campaign further underlines our commitment to partner with key players in the field of software development and the concerned authorities, in curbing the rates of software piracy in the region,” said Jawad Al Redha, Co-Chairman, Business Software Alliance, Middle East.
It is initiatives such as BSA’s latest campaign, coupled with government and industry actions and the rapid influx of branded laptops taking market share from desktop systems supplied by local assemblers, that have resulted in a piracy drop in several countries in the Middle East and Africa, reveals the Third Annual BSA and IDC Global Software Piracy Study released in May 2006.
“This intensive campaign will focus on spreading the message that buying illegal software not only breaks the law and hampers the region’s economic growth, but is also an unwise practice for the consumer. This is because pirated software fails to comply with international quality standards, and is defective, thus leading to loss of precious data or breakdown of hardware systems,” Al Redha said.
Quoting the joint BSA and IDC study, Al Redha pointed out that for every two dollars’ worth of PC software purchased legitimately one dollar’s worth was obtained illegally during 2005. This trend saw governments in the Middle East and Africa region suffering huge revenue losses of over US $1.6 billion due to this illegal practice during 2005. Additionally, local software industries have been crippled by competition with pirated software.
Tackling the problem requires a fundamental shift in the public’s attitude toward software piracy and comprehensive public education campaigns, launched jointly by the government and industry, form a critical component of any anti-piracy initiatives, the study notes. “Governments can increase public awareness of the importance of respecting creative works by informing the public about the consequences of disobeying the law, expressing their intent to strictly enforce those laws and encouraging the use of legitimate software,” Al Redha pointed out.
The BSA awareness campaign aims to motivate retailers and end-users to push genuine products thus safeguarding copyright laws. BSA has also urged educational institutions to introduce courses dealing with the problem of software piracy and make the study of Intellectual Property Rights a part of educational curricula. This is seen as being particularly necessary in view of the rapid influx of new PC users in the consumer and small business sectors and the increased availability of pirated software over the Internet.
“Ethics form the core element of a society’s moral fibre and schools play a crucial role in propagating the right values to coming generations. It is therefore important for schools to introduce IT ethics into the curriculum and foster the development of creativity, respect for copyrights and nurture individuality of students. Government support by way of strict enforcement of IPR laws and focused awareness drives too are crucial for the success of anti-piracy measures,” Al Redha concluded.
