Bangkok--9 May--Vero Public Relations A successful multinational machine-tools manufacturer operating was recently charged with copyright infringement on software worth an estimated 12 million baht. The company, which supplies international manufacturers of automobiles, home electronics, office equipment and other precision products, allegedly used unlicensed CAD software to design tools and moulds and also used unlicensed word processing, accounting and dictionary software. Thai Police officials raided the company based on a tip. This represents one of the largest software copyright infringement cases ever brought against a corporate end-user in Thailand. The company was raided after a one-month investigation and the court order, said Pol. Maj. Gen Visut Vanichbut, Commander of the Economic and Technical Crimes Suppression Division (ECOTEC). At least 38 of the company’s PCs are suspected of containing unlicensed software. “We believe this company has broken Thailand’s intellectual property laws. Such acts undermine the economy of Thailand and the country’s IT sector,” said ECOTEC Pol. Col. Sarayut Pultunya. “Our enforcement team is dedicated to protecting the intellectual property rights of innovators in Thailand. Business people who knowingly or unknowingly use unlicensed software face fines and business disruptions.” Businesses that want to certify that their software is fully licensed should firstly perform a software audit to identify software that has been installed in their computers. They should then check their list of software against the software licenses that they had previously purchased. Businesses are recommended to implement a Software Asset management (SAM) practice in their organization so that the use of software can be closely monitored. The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) offers resources for companies that want to implement SAM. “This is a significant case and we congratulate Pol. Maj. Gen Visut Vanichbut and Pol. Col. Sarayut Pultunya of ECOTEC for a job well done,” said Tarun Sawney, Director of Antipiracy in the Asia region for the Business Software Alliance (BSA). “We encourage companies to ensure they use legal software in order to avoid enforcement actions.” For more information, please contact: Artima Tantikul Sujittra Yingpoemmongkol Vero Public Relations Vero Public Relations Tel: +66 (0) 2684 1551 Tel: +66 (0) 2684 1551 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]