In search of Public Truth online! – Building a case for ICT Software Freedom

As the Shuttleworth Foundation’s Go-Opensource Episode 2 Video states that blogging is not dark and smelly, it’s fresh and new and it’s incredible and magnificent. It’s on the internet and has got journalists in a frill. Usually people are used to getting news through newspapers, magazines, television or radio broadcasts, and news publisher websites. Behind the scenes, international journalists and editors are preparing news and links for syndication of news stories and those stories go through a process of editing and vetting before they appear on printed page or other forms of mass media. But amidst this process, a relatively new phenomenon has introduced the

Software Piracy in Pakistan – Building a case for ICT Software Freedom

 

At this point in time amidst the harsh implications that Pakistani citizens will shortly be facing after 20th May 2006 when the Anti-Software piracy crackdown is enforced by Business Software Alliance BSA (Middleeast) in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Organization and Federal Investigation Authorities of Pakistan, this article is an effort to mobilize regional and international community support through media and the FOSS advocates for FOSSFP so that FOSSFP may continue to massively educate and protect the citizens of Pakistan from

What actually is the Anti-Software Piracy Law?

I picked up this information from the All Pakistan Software House Association – P@SHA Website at
http://www.pasha.org.pk/html_files/policies_antipiracy.htm that states that:

What is the law?
Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1992 (The Amendment Act) is now extended to cover computer software. It is illegal to make or distribute copies of computer programs without authorization. No other copies may be made without specific authorization from the copyright owner.

What are the penalties?
Pakistan’s copyright law prohibits reproduction of software without permission from the owner of the copyrighted computer program. If caught with pirated software, you or your company may be prosecuted under the provisions of the Copyright Laws. The penalties under the law include a fine of up to Rs.200,000, seizure of products used for illegal copying, and a prison sentence of up to three years.

Your responsibilities as a user
Your first responsibility as a software user is to purchase original programs for your use, every computer at your place of business must have its own set of original software and accompanying documentation. It is illegal to purchase a single copy of original software to load onto more than one computer, or to lend, copy or distribute software for any reason without the prior consent of the software manufacturer. When purchasing software, make sure you buy legitimate products. Many counterfeit packaged products are designed to look similar to the original manufacturer’s products but are of inferior quality. Purchasers and users of counterfeit or copied software face unnecessary risks: viruses, corrupt disks, or otherwise defective software (or illegally copied).

Inadequate documentation
Lack of technical product support available to registered users Lack of software upgrades offered to registered users. In addition, if you purchase software that is counterfeit or copied, you not only deny the software developer its rightful revenue, you harm the industry as a whole. All software developers, both big and small, Pakistani or foreign spend literally years developing software for public use. A portion of every rupee spent in purchasing original software is funneled back into research and development so that better and more advanced software may be produced. When you purchase counterfeit software, your money goes directly into the pockets of software pirates.

Government commitment to law enforcement The Pakistan Government will protect the rights of copyright owners. Surprise raids will be conducted and deterrent penalties will be imposed. These raids against software pirates will continue to encourage the purchase of original software.

Forwarded for Informational Purposes only by the FOSS Mullah!

Crackdown against Software Piracy in Pakistan

Guess what, I was the first to know that the Government of Pakistan and Business Software Alliance were planning a massive crack down on software pirates and pirated software users. I was sitting in the Passenger Lounge of Lahore International Airport for my journey to Bangladesh in order to attend the APC Asia ICT Policy Meeting organized by Bytes For All and BFES. Getting bored, I just flipped my headphones and connected FM-100 on my mobile phone when I heard the words, we are going to crackdown on Software Piracy!!!! Thats where I quietly sat and heard the whole story and sent