Bangkok--17 Sep--Vero Public Relations The risks of using unlicensed software in Thailand are about to escalate for businesses that violate copyright laws.Economic and Cyber Crime Division (ECOTEC) announced today that a fierce police crackdown against businesses that engage in installation and use of illegal software will commence on October 15, 2008. The Business Software Alliance’s representative announced that the association has asked for cooperation from ECOTEC in taking legal action against software copyright infringers in the business sector. BSA has also collaborated with the Department of Intellectual Property in helping to educate the Thai business community about the copyright law and methods for identifying the copyrighted software for a certain period of time. Under the current Illegal Software Crackdown Campaign led by ECOTEC, businesses shall legalize their software within the next 30 days. “We have brought actions against many businesses for alleged violations of copyright laws thus far—it has been a strong first half for software anti-piracy,” said ECOTEC Deputy Commander Pol Col Sarayuth Pooltanya. “But we see the second half of the year as being even stronger, starting with severe legal actions which begin on October 15.” “Here is a strong reminder to the business community of the need to operate within the confines of the law. The installation and use of unlicensed and pirated software simply has to stop. Not only will the use of original and licensed software offer obvious advantages such as increased productivity and enhanced security as guaranteed by software developers, it also helps to promote the development of new software which is even more beneficial to the users,” added Pol Col Pooltanya. “The bottom line is that we will not hesitate to uphold the laws of the country against business organizations as well as their executives by pressing for deterrent sentencing including steep fines and jail terms for the guilty.” The crackdown to enforce intellectual property rights for software developers dovetails with a recent move by the BSA to double rewards to up to 500,000 baht for reports on software copyright violations in businesses, that lead to a successful enforcement action. “We congratulate ECOTEC on announcing legal actions against businesses that install and use illegal software. This campaign shows that Thailand puts significant emphasis on the suppression of illegal software. If these measures ultimately help to reduce Thailand’s software piracy rate, it will create a motivating environment for copyright development in the country,” said Tarun Sawney, BSA Director of Antipiracy, Asia. “The reality is that even software developed by Thai companies is among the most often counterfeited by the business community. This is a 30-day warning for the business community to respect the intellectual property rights of software developers.” For individuals who wish to report the use of pirated and unlicensed software in businesses, pleasecall the BSA antipiracy hotline at 02-711-6193. The identity of callers will be kept private and confidential. For more information about the campaign, visit www.stop.in.th or www.bsa.org. 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]