Campaign against software piracy launched in Moldova
A campaign aimed to reduce the software piracy was launched in Chisinau on Wednesday, as Moldova is a country where the use of unlicensed software is widely spread.
An agreement on launch of this campaign was signed Wednesday in Chisinau between the Interior Ministry, the State Agency for the Protection of Intellectual Property and the Business Software Alliance.
The signatories to this agreement said that this is an information campaign rather that "repressive actions" against those who sell or use unlicensed software.
An action for "education of market and implementation of law" concerning the use of software will be held from November 2006 to February 2007, said Magda Popescu, representative of the Business Software Alliance. Media campaigns on advantages of use of licensed software will be held.
"This agreement does not aim to start repressive actions. The campaign will contain propagandistic elements aimed to explain and educate operators and users of information technologies," said Viorel Chetraru, head of the directorate for transborder and information offences in the Interior Ministry.
He noted that the police discovered 48 cases of use of IT with violation of copyrights this year. "Most of them are private companies. Public administrations were not verified regarding the use of unlicensed software, but they will be also controlled," Chetraru added.
Authorities and operators affirm that it is very hard to combat the IT piracy especially because prices of software on "black market" are at least five-fold lower than of licensed products. "The price of software was 20 percent of the price of a licensed product in the cases discovered by police," Chetraru stated.
Given the economic realities, operators must establish adequate prices for IT products, so that "to encourage the migration from black market to the civilised market."
In this regard, the Business Software Alliance representative noted that software producers understand the context of the market and will try to apply lower prices of software.
Accurate data on piracy rate in Moldova are unavailable. "This indicator in CIS is up to 96 percent. It seems that the situation is a little better in Moldova, but the piracy rate is high, however. Software producers, users and the state budget suffer for this reason," said Popescu.
Under the Penal Code, individuals who violate the rights of IT producers may receive fines of 800-1,000 conventional units (16,000-20,000 lei) or may be obliged to work 180-240 days for community benefit. The fine for firms is between 40,000 and 80,000 lei. // BASA
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