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Computer vendor behind bars for selling pirated software

KARACHI: Ferozabad police here in District East arrested the director of a computer-selling firm for supplying pirated software to a public institution as genuine.

The director, whose name has been withheld, was put behind bars, prior to his production before a magistrate. He was arrested following a complaint filed by attorneys of the software company.

The accused had sold 186 unlicensed copies of software saying they were genuine, and caused US $93,000 in losses to the software producer, besides damaging its reputation, a Business Software Alliance (BSA) representative commented in a statement issued on Friday.

The software supplied with the new computers carried fake registration numbers, which the director claimed to have purchased from abroad.

On the other hand, the computer buying institution was cautious about its purchases and supported legal software to carry out hassle-free business. It had invited open bids and the one offering lowest rates was entertained.

The BSA has advised all the software suppliers to refrain from going to cheap sources around the world, and buy the genuine software from the authorised distributors in Pakistan.

Products that carry an unusualy low price and that do not originate from authorised distributors very often turn out to be illegal products, the BSA said and added. The small amount of money saved could lead to big losses in the long run.

If a reseller or a customer has any doubt regarding the legality of a product, they can directly contact the authorised distributors, who will advise them free of cost.

The software, just like books and movies, is protected by the copyright and other intellectual property laws and treaties in Pakistan. If someone sells or installs unlicensed copies of software on hard disks, he becomes a criminal.

The Pakistani laws allow both civil and criminal action against all the companies possessing illegally copied software.

They may be fined up to Rs 200,000 and three years imprisonment.

The use of illegal software was greatly devaluing the IT investments in Pakistan, the BSA said. The enforcement of copyright laws is the need of the hour to encourage local software developers, and earn foreign exchange through the world's fastest growing IT industry. APP