'Copyright Enforcement A Must For ICT Growth’
By Azaraimy & Azrol Azmi

Bandar Seri Begawan - For the local software industry and ICT business in Brunei to develop, copyright enforcement must be taken seriously and copyright property should be respected fully, said President of Microsoft Southeast Asia, Mr Chris Atkinson.

He added that prices were not the reason for a high rate of pirated software as studies carried out in some countries in the region showed people were willing to pay premium prices to get themselves the original copies for quality.

Mr Atkinson said this in an interview with the Bulletin during the official launch of Microsoft's new office in Brunei yesterday.

He said it was up to the local government to enforce software piracy, adding that for a software giant like Microsoft, piracy would not only limit investment opportunities here but also prove to be a real loss for the local software industry.

Piracy is a big challenge not only for Microsoft but also local software companies in Southeast Asia. Software piracy not only affects user in terms of low quality but, more importantly, it would discourage the development of a vibrant local software industry and other copyrighted industries in general, he said.

"What we have seen historically is that there are governments who do not really appreciate copyright laws. This is because software is not like oil or trees or other tangible assets where you can see their values physically," he said.

Mr Atkinson said Brunei has a lot of potential as it has one of the highest per capita GDP in the region and a growing number of sophisticated, technologyliterate populace.

There is a good potential for Brunei to develop a vibrant local software and ICT industry and he has seen the passion for technology here, coupled with the belief in education, entrepreneurial spirit and the commitment to partnership between the government and people in Brunei.

"These attributes have never been more important than they are in today's world. We see, hear and read a lot about globalisation," he said.

Opportunities from being `connected' (connectivity) such as through the Internet play a major role in the development of ICT in areas like e-Government and eEducation. Countries, which have a high percentage of `connected' people like South Korea and Singapore, are in the fast pace of Software and ICT development.

Mr Atkinson added that the government plays an important role through `leading by example'.

He gave an example of Jordan, which has fibre optic networks across schools with the entire curriculum available online. Parents can access the curriculum online, share (web) space with their children and see how their children are doing in school. Most of the homework is also done online where parents can monitor the progress.

However, he said it was important for Brunei to develop their own expertise and not depend on foreign experts alone, as in Egypt, where the government has put in place a very sophisticated e-Government infrastructure including developing their own experts.

He added that Microsoft could help put up a Brunei e-Government infrastructure like in Egypt.

"Microsoft has worked in partnership with SEAMEO-VOCTECH and ITB," he said, adding that Brunei is already on the pathway of a knowledge-based economy, and that Bruneians are becoming more sophisticated and IT savvy.

However, he stressed the importance of enforcing a tough stand on the property right law.

"Show me any country in the world which has high respect of copyright property law that has not yet developed a knowledge-based economy, and show me any country in the world that has no respect for copyright property law but has a developed knowledge-based economy," he said.

"China, which was up until four years ago, did not fully respect copyright property law, is now taking it very seriously and enforcing its own copyright law as it realises its importance to the local economy," he added.

He also touched on Indonesia, which has one of the highest users of pirated copyright material, but has begun to take a serious stance on the issue after realising the importance of building a knowledge based economy.

"Microsoft is committed to helping share best practices from across the region and around the world, promoting ICT across government, academia and the private sector, and helping to close the digital divide by increasing access to IT and development of IT skills. Microsoft is committed to fostering an understanding of, and support for, effective protection and use of intellectual property, and most importantly, Microsoft is committed to helping support the development of a vibrant local software industry in Brunei," Mr Atkinson said.

Also present during the launch was Mr Chan Wan Kong, Country Manager of Microsoft Brunei. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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