Microsoft, the global software leader on Friday announced its genuine software initiative programme in Pakistan, aimed at checking software piracy through education and engineering measures.
"Piracy has become a significant issue in Pakistan with eight out of 10 software being used illegally and incurring $143 million loss to the country's IT industry," said Farhan Junejo, License Compliance Manager, Microsoft-Pakistan.
Microsoft will raise awareness among computer users and pirated CDs sellers about the benefits of licensed software and its recognition through education," he said in a press statement issued here. "We will also inform the end-users and resellers about the risks associated with the illegal software," he added.
Through engineering measures, Farhan said, "Microsoft will make greater investment in anti-counterfeiting technologies and product features that are harder to break by pirates." The new technology will also alert the computer users about the presence of pirated software on their systems, if any, he added.
Farhan cautioned that pirated software is a risky affair for the computer users, because it may result in criminal and financial penalties for violation of the copyright law. Executives of the company may also be held individually liable for any copyright infringement within that organisation, he added.
Furthermore, the businesses using unlicensed software are unable to receive valuable product updates that protect the genuine software users from security threats such as viruses, he said.
The persons using non-genuine software are also ineligible for any technical support, when the software develops some fault, he said. Ultimately, businesses that install unlicensed software run the risk of their workforce productivity loss and damage to their reputation, he added.
Farhan has advised businesses to protect themselves from counterfeiters by purchasing software from authorised resellers operating in all the major cities. The customers can also ensure they are purchasing the original software by demanding its Certificate of Authenticity, he added. He said piracy is affecting the global $175 billion software industry, which employs 2.3 million people around the world. Only last year the software industry lost about $40 billion to global software piracy, he added. Farhan hoped the microsoft genuine software initiative being launched in the piracy prone countries will go a long way in reducing current global piracy rate of 35 percent.
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