As per the fifth annual BSA and IDC global software piracy study published in March 2008, India's piracy rate dropped two percentage points to 69 percent as a result of government and industry education and enforcement efforts, software vendor activation controls, and an increase in PC market share by multinational vendors. The report titled 'BSA/IDC 2007 Global Piracy Study' highlights the fact that dealing with software piracy is still a challenge in emerging markets. Biztech2.0 gets some insights on software piracy prevention in a conversation with Joseph Fitzgerald, vice president, Legal, Deputy General Counsel, Symantec Corporation.

The piracy rate in India is still quite high. What measures can be taken to curb it?

Though India is witnessing a tremendous growth in every segment, piracy rate remains significantly high at 69 percent. A mere two percent reduction in the rate as compared to last year shows that India still has a long way to go as far as curbing piracy is concerned. As per the above BSA-IDC report, India has already incurred a loss of $2025 million due to piracy. Education and awareness levels among software users need to be heightened. In order to reap the benefits of a growing economy, the government should frame strong rules and regulations and IPR policies to prevent people from using pirated software. To combat this issue, it is extremely important for software vendors to work in collaboration with the government, which on its part should take the initiative to formulate strict rules and regulations.

Do you think a strong IPR framework can help curb piracy?

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) can play a very important role in helping to reduce the piracy rate in any country. Tools like trademarks, copyrights and patents can not only help software companies but also end users and can ultimately aid the government of a country. The government has to strongly promote the IPR cause by encouraging innovation and discouraging or even denouncing piracy or any other misuse/misappropriation of IP that may occur. These issues need to be tackled on a larger, national scale. Action by the government on this front would help economic development also through the establishment of a robust local software ecosystem and infrastructure; it would generate employment; and bring in significant tax revenues. Strong IPR adherence also increases inflow of international capital, fuels research and technical know-how for the larger good of the nation.

What initiatives has Symantec taken in this area?

We are not only working at the company level to create awareness among users of all categories, ranging from home to enterprise, but are also closely associated with the government and bodies like NASSCOM, BSA and similar other industrial associations to promote the anti-piracy cause. We educate users on a regular basis about the negative impacts of using pirated software. Piracy is a far-reaching and macro-economic problem that requires the involvement of various institutions and the government for effective solutions.

The government has today recognised the contribution and vast potential of the IT sector as an economic driver and the corresponding importance of reducing software piracy. We are also working with the government on strengthening IP policies, educating consumers and businesses on the benefits of using legal software, advising enterprises to manage their software assets with due legal compliance, and undertaking concerted enforcement actions against the use of illegal and unlicensed software. We have a taskforce, which works closely with the BSA to curb piracy and handles our wide variety of software as well.

What will be the benefits to India and India-based IT companies with a reduction in piracy rate?

As per the BSA-IDC report, lowering India’s PC software piracy rate by 10 percentage points over the next four years will create an additional 43,700 jobs, $3.1 billion in local industry revenues and $208 million in additional tax revenues for central and state governments. As per IDC analysis, reducing software piracy has a 'multiplier effect'. For every $1 spent on legitimate packaged software, an additional $1.25 is spent on related services from local vendors such as installing the software, training personnel and providing maintenance services. A 10 percent drop in piracy will not only impact the performance and economic contribution of the overall software industry but also ripple outward to affect the IT services and distribution sectors, each of which is individually larger than the software industry in its entirety.