WIPO for pvt-public role to fight software piracy in India

Satrajit Moitra

Geneva, July 20 (PTI) The World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO), a specialised agency of U.N., has said
that the best solution to stop the software piracy in India,
which has reportedly led to a loss of about two billion
dollars in revenue last year, is public-private coordination.

Software piracy is a huge problem in India. As a result
of which many global computer giants are facing the heat
worldwide. The best possible way to put an end to software
piracy in India is a close coordinated scheme between private
and public sectors in the country, Director of Copyright Law
at W.I.P.O. Jorgen Blomgvist told PTI here.

A study by the Business Software Alliance (B.S.A.), an
international association representing the global software
industry, in May showed that computer software piracy rates in
India registered huge monetary losses in 2007.

Big companies like Microsoft suffered huge losses due to
this menace in India. Even Indian software companies
experienced a slash in their profits due to availability of
pirated softwares across the country, the Director said,
adding that joint policing "is a way out, at least in the
short run".

In the long run, coordination on a big scale is actually
needed apart from stronger copyright laws and monetary
punishment for those indulging in piracy, he said.

Though software piracy is refusing to go down globally
and continues to thrive in Asia, Blomgvist said that efforts
by India to fight the desire of computer users for using
stolen software have been yielding positive results in terms
of marginal decline.

Another important thing needed in this regard is patent
protection of software, which is not there in India. Software
is protected by copyright only. If patent and copyright
protection both exist, it will be another positive step
against software piracy in the country, he said, adding that
an amendment, if necessary, in intellectual property laws
should be considered.

He, however, refused to comment on what amendments were
needed in that regard. "W.I.P.O. can`t comment on the wisdom
of Indian government. It`s up to the country to do the
needful," he added.