'Piracy kills profits and arrests growth too'

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is the foremost organization dedicated
to promoting a safe and legal digital world.  Recently, BSA hosted the 2003 Asia
Tech Summit. The event brought a broad range of perspectives together for a
discussion on how best to advance the networked economy. Participants from Asia
examined emerging trends and technologies and explored their potential impact on
society and the global marketplace, today and beyond. BSA V-P (Asia) Jeffrey
Hardee, who was present at the event, spoke about the transition of the software
industry across the globe and its pervasiveness in all aspects of society–from
business to government. He spoke about these changes spawning new legislative
and regulatory initiatives around the world. Speaking to Shweta Khanna from CNS,
he discussed BSA’s works to advance policy solutions that promote innovation,
job creation, and economic growth. He also spoke about BSA’s plan of action
for India.

What are the challenges for the software industry?

One big challenge for the industry now and in future is quality manpower.
This needs to be tackled as soon as possible before it becomes too big a problem
to control. For this, we are working on various initiatives such as having an
active campaign for quality trainings and work effectively towards the projected
manpower demand. We are also calling to develop a domain-specific skilled
manpower that can meet up with the current and future software industry, which
is very dynamic.

How important is it to stop piracy?

Piracy robs profits, which are essential for R&D-intensive products like
software. Piracy is a problem worldwide, but is a major problem in Asia as it is
a growing economy. Piracy not only brings down the profits but is a hurdle in
future growth too. Corporate piracy is the biggest problem, which needs to be
dealt with on an urgent basis.

What is the status of piracy in China and India?

India has seen some progress in arresting piracy, but big leaps are yet to
be taken. It will take sometime to gain the momentum, though it has set in. The
industry also needs to take an onus for this situation. With India and China
being the fastest growing markets, this robbing of profits will need a drastic
termination.

Is it important to address IP issues for the software
industry across the world and in Asia?

India has a great software industry and has been making waves in the
international market for long. I feel it is time when India should own its
knowledge products. India is a part of the WIPO treaty, but it is yet to be an
active partner. In fact, in a recent study done by us, 85% of the users said
that IPR should be protected to continue investing in R&D.

What is necessary to stop piracy?

There has to be a 360-degree approach to stop piracy. Constant policing is
required with effective laws, corporate needs to become socially responsible to
buy original software and vendors should educate users about the importance of
original software.

What are BSA’s plans for India in curbing piracy?

BSA has been active along with police authorities and Nasscom to curb the piracy
menace. We will continue to work closely with authorities to generate newer laws
and support industry growth initiatives.

SHWETA KHANNA/CNS in New Delhi