BSA, FICCI to launch tool-kit to protect IPR

As per BSA Global Software Piracy Study 2011, piracy in software has caused a loss of Rs 13,783 cr to GoI

Business Software in Alliance, a global advocate for the software industry in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is launching a tool kit to protect intellectual property (IP) rights. This will be launched in March this year. The law enforcement agencies such as police and customs in these states to help strengthen government machinery to handle IP rights infringement issues.

As per BSA Global Software Piracy Study 2011, piracy in software has caused a loss of Rs 13,783 crore to Government of India. India's software piracy rate of 63 per cent which is declined only by 10 per cent in the last 10 years. BSA has not published any report in the year 2013 about software piracy issue. It will be publishing report in June 2014 with the latest updates.

Commenting o this, Gouri Thounaojam, manager, programme, BSA India said, " The industry is plagued by issues like lower production efficiency and low-end technology in production systems which is leading to their inability to match the prices and quality standards with global suppliers. Under the circumstances, there is a need for these SME to better align the present assets; both hardware and software to grow their businesses. Moreover, SMEs caught using pirated software may end up degrading their market value and goodwill. SMEs must use licensed copy of the software"

Thounaojam, added, "In the first phase, tool kit of BSA and FICCI will be launched in Gujarat and Rajasthan with capacity building workshops for the law enforcement agencies such as police and customs in these states to help strengthen government machinery to handle IP rights infringement issues."

BSA has also introduced a portal site www.Verafirm.org developed by BSA that helps company to manage software licenses effectively, which enables them to mitigate software non-compliance risks in their supply chains.

There are about 120 companies enrolled on Verafirm in India re-instating the fact that enterprises are gradually understanding the need for compliance in a promising yet highly competitive global market.