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Anti-piracy drive targets smaller firms

In an effort to reach the government's goal of lowering Taiwan's software-piracy rate from 43 percent to under 40 percent, the non-profit Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced yesterday that it has launched anti-piracy measures targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have been responsible for most intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement cases in Taiwan.

"We need to strengthen the concept of IPR protection among small and medium-sized companies, as 85 percent of IPR violation reports we received involved such firms," said Sung Hong-ti (宋紅媞), chairwoman of BSA's Taiwan branch.

SMEs account for 98 percent of all businesses in Taiwan and therefore play an import role in the nation's IPR protection, Sung said. Computer-aided design and manufacturing companies, such as interior design firms, are specifically targeted by the campaign, she said.

The alliance hopes that Taiwan's average piracy rate, which has been calculated at 43 percent for three years straight, could be lowered to under 40 percent, following the implementation of these anti-piracy measures. The worldwide average piracy rate is 35 percent.

The rampant usage of unlicensed software has caused losses amounting to about NT$4 billion (US$125 million) to NT$5 billion in software-output value, Sung said, and these illegal activities will also obstruct growth in Taiwan's software industry.
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