LAW ENFORCEMENT RAID IN SINGAPORE NETS THOUSANDS OF PIRATED SOFTWARE CDS; SPA COORDINATES RAID WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-Asianet/ -- The Software Publishers Association (SPA) announced today that over 2,000 counterfeit CDs of SPA member software programs were seized by Singapore law enforcement officials in a raid conducted earlier today. SPA counsel, based in Singapore, assisted the local authorities in the raid that took place at five different retail outlets in Sim Lim Square. The counterfeits were identified by SPA member representatives and then seized by Singapore officials. "SPA commends Singapore officials for taking a proactive role in fighting the growing piracy problem in Singapore," said Sandra Sellers, SPA vice president of intellectual property and enforcement. "Copyright holders have been carrying the burden of civil and criminal enforcement, and SPA believes it is necessary for the government of Singapore to take strong action against this problem. We also look forward to new legislation that will strengthen the remedies available against copyright infringers," Sellers added. In the last year, SPA has seized or identified over 50,000 counterfeit CDs in Asia, particularly in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Further details will be available in the next several days as law enforcement officials compile an official inventory of the seized CDs. Other trade associations representing copyright holders in the software and music industries also participated in today's raids. The various trade groups have worked together to convince the government that strong enforcement action and legislative changes are necessary to decrease the growing piracy problem in Singapore. SPA is the principal trade association of the software industry, representing the leading publishers as well as start-up firms in the business, home office, consumer, entertainment and educational markets. SPA supports companies that develop and publish software applications and tools for use on the desktop, client-server networks and the Internet. SPA's 1200 member companies account for 85 percent of U.S. revenue for packaged and online software. Hundreds of these companies look to SPA to protect their intellectual property rights around the world. SOURCE Software Publishers Association CONTACT: Singapore: M. Ravindran (SPA Counsel), 65-336-1911, [email protected] or U.S.: David Phelps of the SPA, 202-452-1600, ext. 320, or [email protected]/