VietNamNet Bridge – A quick inspection just launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shows software copyright violations at many companies and computer stores are still prevalent, a ministry official said.

Pham Xuan Phuc, deputy chief inspector of the cultural ministry, said software copyright violations are still widespread and require greater efforts by relevant authorities this year.

The inspection team of the cultural ministry has detected copyright infringements at numerous firms and organizations in the first five months of the year, Phuc said.

The inspectors had carried out snap checks at 12 entities, including two computer trading firms and ten Taiwanese-invested companies in big industrial parks in Hanoi, HCMC, Danang, Binh Duong and Long An.

Among these entities, only two were using copyrighted software programs while eight others were found using different pirated ones, according to the inspectors. Specially, the inspectors found out that several enterprises had used a lot of illegal software programs worth up to billions of dong but refused to cooperate with related copyright owners.

Despite the widespread infringements, however, Phuc noted that the compliance in computer software copyrights is better as the number of violations is falling.

Software copyright infringement in Vietnam is falling, with the rate of software piracy in the country staying at 80% last year, shrinking two percentage points against 2011, says a research project conducted by the Software Alliance (BSA) in collaboration with the U.S.-based business school INSEAD. As such, the rate has declined from 92% to 80% in the past seven years.

Roland Chan, senior director of marketing for Asia-Pacific at BSA, said those companies using legal software would face smaller risks and achieve higher efficiency. Legal software is not only good for businesses, but also an important driving force for economic growth.

“Vietnam should seize every opportunity to realize these benefits by reducing software piracy and encouraging the use of copyrighted software,” Roland remarked.

Source: SGT