In a further crackdown on piracy, government officials and intellectual property rights groups yesterday initiated a campaign targeting enterprises that fail to use legally licensed software.
To add to the incentives, people reporting violations through a toll-free number, 0800-051498, could be awarded prizes ranging from NT$2,000 up to NT$1 million during the period.
"In addition to campuses, the nation's sizable small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is usually where the rampant use of pirated software is found," said Tsai Lien-sheng (
Taiwan's SMEs numbered more than 1.1 million last year, making up 97.8 percent of the nation's registered companies, according to figures from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
"We hope to raise enterprises' awareness of using copyrighted programs through the campaign," said Sung Hong-ti (
The program will run from August 16 to September 30, and will grant enterprises using pirated software a 45-day grace period to voluntarily rectify their violations without being arrested or facing criminal charges.
The alliance's 27 member firms in Taiwan, including Microsoft and McAfee, will provide special offers with a total of NT$100 million worth of discounts to encourage companies to adopt copyrighted software programs during the campaign.
Sung said violators could face a wave of large-scale investigations and arrests slated to start right after the campaign, on Oct. 1.
Taiwan saw a piracy rate of 43 percent last year, down from over 50 percent two years earlier, causing a loss to software companies of up to NT$4.9 billion, according to alliance figures released last month.
In a bid to further revamp the nation's image, Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (
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