14 November 2007
Lagos — In a bid to rid Nigeria of the menace of software piracy and counterfeiting, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has reaffirmed its commitment to the anti-piracy campaign as it advised software pirates and channel counterfeiters to desist from their illegal and illegitimate activities because of its obvious negative impact on the nation's image.
Speaking at a strategic session to update the media on the impact of the consequences campaign mounted recently by BSA aimed at raising awareness among software distributors, resellers, partners and users on the legal and operational risks involved in the use of illegal software and the negative impact it has on the Nigerian economy, the BSA spokesperson in Nigeria, Mr. Akeem Aponmade said he was satisfied with the result of the campaign so far.
According to Aponmade, BSA is satisfied with the result of the consequences campaign mounted to educate Nigerians on the impact of software piracy.
"We are aware of the negative impact of software piracy and counterfeiting on the image and economy of our country Nigeria. Image matters so much in life. It is even more important when it has to do with the image of a country. A nation with poor image index is not likely to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from other countries. Without
FDI a county can hardly make headway in terms of economic development.
This is the reason the fight against piracy should be seen as a national crusade which should involve all the stakeholders in the Nigerian project.
"We are happy with the partnership agreement we entered with the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC to collaborate in fighting this war. The partnership with NCC is instructive, effective and productive in achieving our set objective. We are also very happy that the corporate organizations are beginning to cooperate in the area of compliance. We use this opportunity to commend those who have advanced to the status of full compliance. Now they do not have any issues with BSA as long as software piracy and counterfeiting is concerned.
"The full compliance by the banks is a clear demonstration of their commitment to ethical business principles and corporate governance. It demonstrates that the banks are alive to their image and reputation as well respected corporate organizations", he said.
.The BSA spokesperson called on other banks and corporate organizations to emulate the foot steps of these banks by ensuring that there IT platforms are configured with the relevant technologies that are licensed.
He also advised the IT professionals in these organizations to educate their management on the consequences of using fake, pirated software.
According to him, It is true that some management may frown at wha they think is the high cost of procuring original software packages, but it pays to use them because, they guarantee the users a peace of mind. The use of pirated software does not only have the danger of ruining your business but also has the danger of implicating you with the law of the land that prohibits it.
Aponmade added that, software piracy is copyright theft. Many of us do not realize that what we purchase is a license to use software and not the actual software itself. Your license agreement from the software publisher explains the terms for the software use.
Essentially, you must own a license that covers each and every machine you use the software on.
He explained that, software piracy can take a number of forms: end-user copying where an end user copies software onto more machines than they have licenses for: pre-loading un-licensed software by unscrupulous suppliers on new machines without supplying customers the necessary licenses: counterfeit software where software is copied and illegally sold as the genuine article and downloading unlicensed software over the internet.
On the consequences of copyright and counterfeiting on the nationl economy, he emphasized that it is eroding the source of national wealth.
Presently, the global software piracy rate is about 35%, which equates to almost $40 billion per year. Software violation in Nigeria presently stands at over 82% equating to a loss of $100 million in 2006, making it one of the highest and most alarming piracy rates in the world.
The Business Software Alliance is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international market place. Its members represent one of the fasted growing industries in the world. BSA programmes foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright promotion, Cyber security, trade and e-commerce.
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