Bangkok--6 Feb--Vero Public Relations
The risks of software piracy were recently underscored when the Thai Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court awarded a software developer damages of 3.5 million baht in its software piracy case against an Ayutthaya-based manufacturing company.
The court rendered a decision holding that the defendant had used counterfeit copies of software in its business practices. In the decision, the court held that the defendant’s actions amounted to willful infringement of the software developers legal rights. The court found that the actions violated the Thai Copyright Act.
The case began with a criminal investigation into software copyright violations in 2006. In 2008, a civil suit was filed by the software developer. Damages of 3.5 million baht awarded by the Thai Intellectual Property Court include value of the software, loss of reputation and legal fees.
"We applaud the court’s decision against the use of unlicensed software by the defendant," said Tarun Sawney, Business Software Alliance (BSA) Director of Anti Piracy, Asia. “Software piracy makes it incredibly difficult for developers of genuine software to compete in the marketplace and harms the ability of the software industry to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.”
The software industry in Thailand is expected to grow at a reduced pace in 2009, falling to roughly 5% versus the 18 to 19% growth posted annually in recent years, according to the Association of Thai Software Industry (ATSI). Khun Somkiat Ungaree, president of ATSI, said that enforcement of intellectual property laws to protect innovation is an important factor for the Thai software industry in the challenging year ahead.
"Software piracy results in financial losses, including job creation, wage and salary, tax revenue, and retail dollars for business software applications," said Khun Somkiat. "Software piracy is harmful to our nation’s economic health and cannot be tolerated. The ruling of the Thai IP Court against the defendant is a promising step forward in the fight against piracy."
The impact of software piracy on the Thai software industry is vast. According to a study conducted by IDC that was released last year, a 10 percentage point reduction in PC software piracy in Thailand is estimated to result in an additional 2,100 jobs, 35 billion baht in local industry revenues and 1.8 billion baht in new tax revenues.
Sawney said that the recent successful civil case in the IP courts sets the stage for further legal actions against businesses that violate software copyrights.
“Pursuing software copyright infringement cases through civil suits give all software developers another option—in addition to criminal actions—to recoup losses from companies that break the Thai Copyright Act,” said Sawney. “This is a great victory for innovators and entrepreneurs in Thailand.”
Often, phone calls to the BSA hotline are the source for legal action against copyright violators. People who report use of unlicensed software by calling 0-2714-1010 are eligible to receive an award of up to 250,000 Thai Baht. The identity of the caller is protected.