The Taiwan chapter of the US-based Business Software Alliance (BSA) — a non-profit organization that works to uphold intellectual property rights (IPR) — yesterday called on the government, enterprises and the public to team up against software piracy and create a safe and legal digital world.
At an event hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Intellectual Property Office to mark World Intellectual Property Day, which falls today, BSA Taiwan co-chair Sung Hong-ti (宋紅媞) said “public awareness of the need to protect IPR has been improving over the years, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.”
Established by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2001, World Intellectual Property Day seeks to instill an appreciation for the role of IPR in daily life, including the “contribution made by innovators and artists to the development of societies across the globe.”
Sung praised Taiwan’s efforts to combat commercial piracy and strengthen IPR.
The country’s IPR infringement rate fell from 43 percent in 2006 to 40 percent last year, Sung said, giving it the third-lowest rate of piracy in Asia after Japan’s 23 percent and Singapore’s 37 percent.
On Jan. 16 the US recognized Taiwan’s progress, Sung said, when the Office of the US Trade Representative removed the country from its Special 301 Watch list.
But IPR infringements remain serious at small and medium-sized enterprises where licensed software is not purchased for all computers, Sung said.
“The concept of users paying is important and we hope the government, enterprises and the public will work together to support licensed software,” Sung said.
Sung said BSA Taiwan had launched a “333 Campaign” to combine the efforts of the government, companies and the public to reduce the nation’s piracy rate by 3 percent within three years.
Many studies have linked economic growth to the reduction of software piracy, Sung said, adding that reducing the illegal copying of software to 31 percent by 2012 would add an estimated US$414 million to the nation’s GDP.
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