Cost Drives PC Users To Pirates
By Hadi DP Mahmud

Bandar Seri Begawan - Some of the leading computer retail shops in the sultanate continue to give customers the option of buying pirated copies of the Windows operating system, raising questions on the value of Intellectual Property (IP) in Brunei.

A leading computer retail shop in Brunei revealed that although computer products from major IT companies such as Hewlett Packard, Dell and Acer come pre-installed with original copies of Windows, many customers opt for the cheaper pirated version.

An original version of the Windows XP costs $100 to $150 more than the pirated version, said a spokesperson for a computer retail shop with 12 years of experience in the local IT business.

"Problems may surface for users of the pirated version of the Windows operating system as soon as the user attempts to update the software," the spokesperson said.

Slower and less desirable experience, such as low or very bad quality sound and pictures or instances of the computer needing to be restarted after hanging are among the compromises and problems with unlicensed pirated programs, said Jonathan Selvasegaram, Corporate Attorney for Microsoft Corporation in a recent email interview with The Brunei Times.

"Software piracy is rampant everywhere. Public education initiatives are key to having offenders understand that IP protection is key to driving a thriving economy," Selvasegaram said.

Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest operating system, features new tools that automatically detect illegal or fake software. Microsoft's efforts to combat IP theft are a continual process and will go on until there is zero piracy rate, the corporate attorney said.

A Business Software Alliance study has shown that in a country like Indonesia, just a 10-point drop in the piracy rate will result in a growth of the IT industry of more than US$6.4 billion by 2009.

"The government should take the lead in demonstrating the role of IP. IP drives innovation. If there is no fundamental respect for IP in an economy, there will be no drive for innovation that will, in turn, create job growth and a healthy economy."

The Malaysian and Indonesian governments, for example, have conducted yearly seminars and sent educational letters targeted at businesses to educate them on the importance of using licensed software. This has resulted in significant reductions in their software piracy rates in the last 10 years.

-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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