FIA raiding Companies for software Piracy. ACCA College should move before
By Nabila (Guest Post)
According to ProPakistani, Federal Investigation Agency, famously knows for its acronyms, FIA, has initiated a crackdown of corporate users of unlicensed computer software, in a govt’s resolve to curb software piracy.
Acting on a complaint, the FIA this week raided a large pharmaceutical company with offices in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The company has been accused of using pirated software, in other words, unlicensed software.
The production, sale, copy, purchase or usage of unlicensed software is an offence, punishable under Section 66 of Chapter XIV of the Copyright Ordinance 1962 and can lead to criminal prosecution for violation of the law.
According to many market participants majority of ACCA colleges are using pirated version of Microsoft products including Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The unfortunate event is that many of these colleges are delivering professional qualifications which claims to withhold transparency, value and ethics – But they failed to say NO to piracy.
Kamal Ahmed, Country Manager Microsoft Pakistan remarked, “Software piracy is a significant threat locally and we as a nation need to take concrete steps to curb it. It is unacceptable when profitable commercial organizations indulge in software piracy with complete disregard to the law, often in a manner which gives them an unfair cost advantage over Pakistan companies with licensed software. Promoting a culture that respects IPR, in software and other industries, will attract greater foreign investment in our economy and also provide an incentive to local entrepreneurs to explore new ideas.”
According to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), conducted for BSA, the country’s IT competitiveness ranking has declined to 62nd in the world, which is behind other regional countries like India and Sri Lanka. Most importantly, the unchecked trade of pirated software in the country is exposing unsuspecting software users to the hazards of malware, viruses and other online scams.