Business Software Alliance CEO Visits Thailand
BANGKOK, September 15, 2009—Business Software Alliance President and CEO Robert Holleyman visited Thailand and lauded the country’s efforts to curb PC software piracy.
Holleyman cited two consecutive years of falling software piracy rates as evidence of Thailand’s efforts to protect the intellectual property rights of software developers.
The software piracy rate in Thailand is 76 percent after falling two percentage points in both 2007 and 2008. Moreover, a strong anti-software piracy effort through the first half of 2009 indicates the possibility of further reductions in the current software piracy rate.
"Software piracy remains a big challenge for the software industry and it is a worldwide problem that needs to be addressed through public and private collaboration. We are encouraged to see that the Thai government has taken a series of steps to bring down software piracy and encouraging progress has been made," said Holleyman. “The reductions in the software piracy rate demonstrate how the government is serious about protecting intellectual property rights for software developers and reducing PC software piracy.”
Holleyman met with His Excellency Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, and a number of government officials during his visit.
In addition to praise for Thailand’s efforts, Holleyman added, “Despite all the good efforts, the Thai software piracy rate remains high when compared to the rest of the region, and more needs to be done. While BSA’s focus has been on corporate end-user piracy, BSA suggests greater efforts be expanded to end open retail trade of pirated PC software in IT malls. This would work to enhance Thailand’s image in the eyes of international trade groups and governments.”
Local software industry leaders said Holleyman’s visit will be a boost to the country's software development environment, and will help draw attention to Thailand as a country with a supportive environment for creators of intellectual property.
“Mr. Holleyman’s visit and his confirmation that Thailand is on the right track with regard to software IP protection gives confidence to creators and entrepreneurs in Thailand and around the world to see Thailand as a place that is good for innovation,” said BSA member Somporn Maneeratanakul, Managing Director of Thai Software Enterprise.
In recent weeks, Thailand’s efforts to reduce PC software piracy have gained momentum through active police enforcement and court victories versus software pirates. In August, police had one of their strongest months on record, with 15 raids against companies that violated Thailand’s Copyright Act. In July, software developers won a second case in civil court, gaining 1.8 million baht in damages for violation of their intellectual property rights.
According to a study conducted by IDC, reducing software piracy in Thailand by just ten percentage points over the next four years could generate 2,100 new jobs, over US$1 billion in economic growth, and over US$55 million in tax revenues above current projections.
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About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (
www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Agilent Technologies, Altium, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, CA, Cadence Design Systems, Cisco Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Embarcadero, Frontline PCB Solutions - An Orbotech Valor Company, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, McAfee, Microsoft, Mindjet, Minitab, NedGraphics, PTC, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, SAP, Scalable Software, Siemens, SPSS, Sybase, Symantec, Synopsys, Tekla and The MathWorks. BSA member in Thailand includes Thai Software Enterprise
