Malaysia takes aim at pirated software in firms http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyid=2006-05-03T131056Z_01_KLR108879_RTRUKOC_0_US-TRADE-MALAYSIA-PIRACY.xml
Wed May 3, 2006
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia, pressed by the United States to crack down on copyright thieves ahead of talks for a free-trade pact, threatened jail terms on Wednesday for officials of companies that use unlicensed or pirated software.
Malaysia has seized 31 computers and 211 copies of suspected unlicensed software from five companies raided over the last two months, the ministry of domestic trade and consumer affairs said.
Senior management of companies would be held accountable if pirated or unlicensed software was found in their workplaces, Iskandar Halim Sulaiman, deputy director general of the ministry, told reporters.
"If found guilty in a court of law the directors could face jail terms of up to five years, on top of a possible fine of anywhere between 2,000 to 20,000 ringgit for each infringing software found," he said.
The ministry did not name the firms because inquiries were continuing, officials said, but one company had elite status as a member of the Multimedia Super Corridor, which offers incentives to technology companies that set up shop in Malaysia.
The material seized in the raids ranged from applications for animation, photo-editing and computer-aided design to programs for anti-virus protection, operating systems and word processing that belong to firms such as Adobe, Macromedia and Symantec, the Business Software Alliance said. "We believe that strong protection for creative works, including that of computer software, will be critical in furthering innovation and growth in the rapidly changing world," group marketing director Roland Chan said in a statement.
As much as 61 percent of Malaysia's software is pirated, says the Alliance, whose members include giant firms such as Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research), Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), IBM Corp (IBM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research), McAfee Inc (MFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Symantec Corp (SYMC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and SAP (SAPG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research). .
Companies in Malaysia have a deadline of May 31 by which to survey all software prior to getting licenses if they want to win a one-year term of immunity from raids, the statement added.
As it steps up its fight against the copyright pirates, Malaysia recorded 1,175 anti-piracy cases last year, against 950 in 2004, Bernama, the national news agency, said last month.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shafie Apdal has warned building owners they could face legal charges from next year if pirated materials were found to have been stored or sold on their property, the Star newspaper reported recently.
The Recording Industry Association of Malaysia had filed a lawsuit against a shopping complex in the central state of Pahang for renting out its premises to VCD pirates, it added.
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