Vietnam’s personal computer (PC) software piracy rate fell 2 percent
to 83 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, marking the first fall after
three consecutive years of unchanged piracy rate of 85 percent.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) released the figure in its 2010 Global Software Piracy Study in early June.
According
to BSA spokesman Dao Anh Tuan, the progress was the result of enormous
efforts made by Vietnam in recent years in improving the legal
framework for protecting software copyright and enhancing education and
enforcement activities.
BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman
said the report showed the importance of educational activities to the
government, enterprises and consumers on the risks of software copyright
infringement as well as solutions to terminate the issues.
Through
the activities, Vietnamese people have gained better understanding on
intellectual property, especially its role in boosting economic growth.
According
to experts, to get Vietnam ’s software piracy rate down to the
regional level of around 60 percent, there is still much more to be done
by the Vietnamese Government, including dealing with violators who are
consumers to improve their awareness.
“This will benefit Vietnam
thanks to GPD growth, increased job opportunities and tax income for
the government,” Tuan said.
The report, done in 116 countries
around the world, also said that in 2010, the commercial value of
unlicensed software installed on personal computers in Vietnam still
amounted to 412 million USD compared to 353 million USD in 2009.
According to Dr. Vu Manh Chu, Head of the Vietnam Copyright Department,
raising awareness on software copyright will help reduce the piracy
rate, contributing to not only improving Vietnam ’s business
environment for foreign investors but also boosting the country’s
software industry.
A software copyright protection programme has
been conducted by BSA in cooperation with the Vietnam Copyright
Department and the inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sport and
Tourism since 2008.
The programme has just launched a campaign to
encourage computer dealers not to install counterfeit software to new
computers./.
