Bangkok, Thailand (25 April, 2000) -- A joint task force involving the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Association of Thai Computer Industry (ATCI), the Association of Thai Software Industry (ATSI), and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) have jointly pledged to crack down on companies who continue to flaunt copyright laws by using pirated software.

The new alliance will start where the BSA’s 90-Day Grace Period left off last year, which revealed a high proportion of companies in Thailand continue to use pirated software in their operations. The campaign is positioned to help the software industry both locally and international to protect and preserve their intellectual property rights. The campaign will focus various enforcement actions at the business community, together with continued education efforts to educate the general public of the legal risks of software piracy. The enforcement program will also run in parallel with the IP Special Fund activities initiated by the DIP.

With full support from all parties being given, the new Crackdown Campaign will see the alliance initially contact over 15,000 corporate users in Thailand to warn of the consequences of using illegal software. The initial direct contact aims to create a higher awareness among Thais about the risks of using illegal software. At the same time, increased legal and investigation resources to gather evidence against companies on the BSA hot list will be started. The hot list comprises of companies suspected to be using unlicensed software by the BSA. After the initial direct contact, both surprise visits and police raids will be conducted against end users and retailers that do not voluntary reformed their illegal software behavior. Fines and possible jail sentences are all consequences that companies and sellers if they found with pirated software.

Since the beginning of April, a new reward structure to garner more leads from the general public has been launched. Both lead reporting and the reward have been simplified, with each informant immediate eligible for a Baht 5,000 reward. The Caller’s confidentiality will be strictly guarded.

Companies contacted by the new industry group are urged to voluntary complete the certification form and fax it back to the DIP fax number 547-4631 or mail it to P.O. Box 130 Ram Intra Post Office, BKK 10220. This will also allow the agency to eliminate them from potential investigation and legal action.

To further stem the software piracy rate, the parties plan to run an education campaign together with the enforcement campaign. The campaigns will educate the media, general public and young people through various channels. The objective is to let people gain more understanding of the importance of using legitimate products.

"In order to ensure a strong and vibrant software industry, it is necessary to develop positive policies to promote the industry. This is the role of the Government and we must take the lead to ensure such activities and policies are in place and properly enforced in our country. It is important that we all fight the piracy together and as such the DIP is committed to taking effective steps towards the reduction of software piracy in Thailand. Education plays an important role in this process and the efforts made by the BSA, the ATSI and the ATCI to encourage better software management practice is a good example of this. Both the ATCI and the ATSI represent the local hardware and software industries. It is crucial for Thai people to understand that they are hurting the economy and their brotherhood by using pirated products," said Khun Weerawit Weeraworawit, Deputy General Director, Department of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce.

"The ATSI’s role is to help promote the local software industry through local development and investment. The ATSI signed a MOU with the BSA two years ago with the objective of assisting each other in reducing the piracy rate in Thailand. During the past two years, the ATSI and the BSA have conducted education activities, but this is the first industry campaign that combines marketing, advertising and enforcement campaigns all together. Our software industry would be able to grow if we didn’t use pirated software," said Khun Aporna Sribhibhadh, President of the ATSI.

"The software industry has great potential to grow here in Thailand. Piracy is considered a national issue not just an issue for the BSA, ATCI or ATSI. We all are responsible for protecting our rights and intellectual property. Imagine if you will that your work, your innovations and creations, your time and money you worked so hard on were stolen, what would you do? We can leverage the knowledge and experience that the BSA has gathered from 65 countries. We can help our country’s economy by not using illegal software," said Khun Wanarak Ekachai, President of the ATCI

"The BSA is joining hands with the Department of Intellectual Property, the Association of Thai Computer Industry, and the Association of Thai Software Industry, to conduct marketing, education and enforcement activities. The participation comes from both the industry and the government sectors because we share the same perspective that software is the brain of an information economy. The BSA is focusing seriously on the piracy problem in Thailand and we will use every possible means and channels to fight piracy. Thai government agencies, local associations and the BSA want to see a decrease in the piracy rate and we wish to discourage the business sector from putting their corporations on the wrong side of the law by using illegal software," said Mr. Huey Tan, Vice President, BSA Thailand.

About BSA

The Business Software Alliance promotes the continued growth of the software industry through its international public policy, education and enforcement programs in 65 countries throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Latin America. BSA worldwide members include the leading publishers of software for personal computers including Adobe, Attachmate, Autodesk, Bently Systems, Corel Corporation, Inprise, Lotus Development, Macromedia, Microsoft, Network Associates, Novell, Symantec and Visio. Additional members of BSA’s Policy Council include Apple Computer, Compaq, IBM, Intel, Intuit and Sybase. More information about BSA can be found on our Internet site, at http:\www.bsa.org

In the Asia-Pacific region, BSA maintains a series of formal memberships and informal relationships with Asia-Pacific software associations and software companies. In Thailand, BSA has formed an alliance with the Association of the Thai Computer Industry and the Association of the Thai Software Industry.

Contact Information

Name: Khun Pranee Chalermtanasak
Email: pc150_c@yahoo.com
Phone: 971-3711-2