Bangkok--2 May--Hill & Knowlton Thailand Officers from the ECOTEC division of the Royal Thai Police recently carried out raids at IT malls across the capital, as part of the continued fight against counterfeit and unlicensed software in Thailand. Although piracy is typically associated with the selling of counterfeit products such as copied CD’s or DVD’s, it is now also alarmingly common for hardware to be pre-installed with unlicensed software before it is sold to an end-user. Common malpractices among vendors include hard-disk loading or the reproduction of unauthorized programs on computers — which are then often falsely advertised as fully licensed, encouraging customers to unwittingly purchase illegal goods, putting themselves or their businesses at risk. Indeed a survey commissioned by Microsoft last year revealed that 97% of system builders in major IT malls in Bangkok are guilty of ‘hard-disk loading’ - the practice of installing pirated or unlicensed software on PC’s. At the time of the survey, only three percent of software vendors at Panthip Plaza, Zeer Rangsit Mall and the Fortune Mall offered PC’s pre-installed with genuine Microsoft products. Hard-disk loaders were therefore targeted during these latest raids and after seizing and analyzing suspicious computers, unlicensed copies of Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office were found. The cases are now under police investigation and awaiting criminal prosecution by the Public Prosecutor, but with the practice of hard-disk loading particularly widespread and offenders typically selling large quantities of computers within short periods of time, police enforcement and future raids are expected to continue. These ongoing police raids signify an intensifying effort to effectively tackle and reduce piracy in Thailand, but there is still much to be done. Indeed raids are just one part of a much larger ongoing process that the Thai government, Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), ECOTEC and the Royal Thai Police are employing to pro-actively deal with the issue in a positive way to ensure long-term benefits for Thai businesses and the economy. “With these raids we want to show that the government is determined to make the country piracy-free. Piracy and the illegal use of unlicensed software has continued to be a big threat to the growth of the local Information and Communications sector and is causing considerable lost revenue to our economy,” said Pol. Col. Sarayuth Poontanya, Deputy Commander, ECOTEC Police Division. “As a copyright owner, Microsoft fully supports ECOTEC’s zero-tolerance approach to piracy and we recognize the importance of greater Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) awareness in order to level the playing-field for legitimate channel partners in Thailand,” added Rebecca Ho, Microsoft spokesperson for intellectual property enforcement in Thailand. “We are pleased to be working with the Thai authorities to help bring down the piracy rate in Thailand and we commend ECOTEC for their ongoing efforts.” A healthier attitude towards IPR in Thailand is essential for local Thai businesses and foreign investors alike, who both require stability and transparency in order to achieve and maintain their long-term growth. If Thailand’s piracy rate, which currently stands at 80%, does not improve there will be reduced incentives for local software developers and Thailand will miss out on crucial investment as investors instead opt for other countries in the region where efforts to reduce piracy have been more successful. As such, Microsoft (Thailand) is continuing to work in collaboration with all its partners to educate Thai consumers on the real benefits of genuine software and how to protect themselves. These ongoing efforts include hosting IP awareness presentations and program offerings such as Software Asset Management (SAM), Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) and Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer (MSIA). Users who suspect they have been sold a pirated copy of Microsoft software can also contact the Microsoft Customer Contact Center by calling 02-263-6888 or visiting http://www.microsoft.com/thailand/genuine for more information. For further information, please contact: Suphada Jaidee Hill & Knowlton Thailand Tel: 0-2627 3501 ext 209 Fax. 0-2627 3510 Email: [email protected]