BBC’s documentary… and software freedom

 

BBC’s documentary… and software freedom By Fouad Riaz Bajwa writing from PAKISTAN • Is Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) a make-do product for those who can’t afford better? Is it something suited for the ‘developing’ world alone? No, says Fouad Riaz Bajwa, a Pakistani FOSS advocate known as the “FOSS mullah” for his passionate commitment to the cause. He debates a recent two-part BBC documentary on FOSS, which he believes catches the bull by the tail. (Special thanks to Frederick [FN] Noronha for this bit!)

Ouch!
It has only been a few minutes since the telecase of the second and last episode of the BBC produced documentary titled “Code Breakers” on BBC World. The documentary attempts to

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 (Mild least) 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 the implications of Software Piracy by educating them on Free and Open Source Software as an alternative to pirated software.

1) What are the copyright act amendments, addition of Software?
The government has rewritten and amended legislation in the areas of copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Copyright law in Pakistan was governed by the Copyright Ordinance 1962. Significant changes were made in it through

The Code Breakers by IOSN – Building a case for ICT Software Freedom

 

I can still recall the first day at the Kram Expo Centre in Tunis last year during the World Summit on the Information Society 2006 as I was making preparations for exhibiting FOSSFP projects in the space allotted to me by UNDP when I was overwhelmed to see Sunil Abraham, Program Manager of the International Open Source Network in action as usual but this time he wasn’t alone like the last time he dropped in at the FOSSFP National Free and Open Source Software Awareness Campaign in Pakistan. He was leading a team of documentary camera men! I knew the very instant that our Open Source dude was up to something, and yes, he was covering FOSS related activities and interviewing

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

BSA – Business Software Alliance’s Motives

I got this image off the BSA website but it was well over 2MB so I reduced the size and converted it in to a PDF document. The advertisement list the same material presented in the P@SHA Website regarding the Anti-Software Piracy.

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