Pampanga malls raided for software piracy

The Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team together with the Optical Media Board recently seized over 100 pirated software installers among popular shopping malls in Pampanga.

            Among the malls raided were SM City Pampanga in San Fernando City, SM City Clark, Marquee Mall and Robinsons Place in Angeles City.

            Several laptop brands such as HP, Acer, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and Asus have been found installed with probable unlicensed software in different instances during the sweep, PAPT reported.

            PAPT said it resumed its anti-software piracy campaign in Northern Luzon against software installers allegedly used by computer retail stores in Pampanga.

            The PAPT started its Northern Luzon sweep last month by inspecting businesses operating in Pampanga and Zambales and found numerous cases of under-licensing among various banks, schools and other commercial establishments.

            In revisiting Pampanga, the PAPT and OMB teams targeted computer stores inside malls and came up with violators of another form of software piracy among computer retail stores – installation of pirated software in the PCs they were selling.

            "While our inspections have not yet resulted in our filing charges against erring companies pending results of further investigations, we believe we have gotten across our messages to businesses that software piracy consists not only of using unlicensed software or under-licensing on the part of companies but installing pirated software in the PCs they sell on the part of computer shops," said lawyer Cyrus Valenzuela, executive director of OMB.

            Valenzuela said OMB has been impressing upon everyone that software piracy is a violation of the Copyright Provisions of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA 8293) and the Optical Media Act (RA 9239). Offenders will be subjected to criminal sanctions of up to nine years of imprisonment and a fine of up to P1.5 million.

            The OMB executive also expressed his disappointment at these establishments that continue to sell pirated software copies as these subject compliant businesses to unfair competition, aside from causing damages on the Philippine economy.

            "The use of pirated software does not only pose risks to businesses in terms of viruses and malware that may destroy any data vital to their business operation," Valenzuela said. "It also harms the Philippine economy in terms of revenue losses for the industry, lower tax collections for the government and reduced job opportunities for our fellow Filipinos."

            Based on the 2010 Global Software Piracy Study conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC) for the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the software piracy rate of the Philippines has remained at 69 percent for four consecutive years now, which amounted to $278 million losses in 2010.