BSA sees decline in RP software piracy

A crackdown on software pirates and the government's public awareness campaign on software piracy has limited illegal use of computer software in the country to 71 percent, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said Tuesday.

Tarun Sawney, BSA’s director of anti-piracy for Asia, said they expect the figure to go down further due to closer cooperation between the BSA and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Sawney told IPO director general Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. that continuing raids of IP inter-agencies, such as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Optical Media Board (OMB), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are contributing to the decline of software piracy.

He said more than P19 million worth of software have been seized since the crackdown of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy team started in September.

The BSA , meanwhile, urged the IPO and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to monitor the use of pirated software among call centers and other industry associations. -- ABS CBN NEWS