Border Enforcement To Fight Piracy In Intellectual Properties
By Hadi DP Mahmud

Bandar Seri Begawan - Border enforcement measures maybe used by intellectual property right holders in Brunei to deter imports on infringing materials, but to solely rely on such measures to combat piracy is insufficient, an IT professional said.

During the opening of the Legal Year 2008 last week, the Attorney General encouraged right holders in the sultanate to use border enforcement measures to deter imports on infringing materials, saying that despite being considered effective, such measures are not being utilised by most right holders or appropriate representatives.

"Continuous support and dedication from rights holders or appropriate representatives would be required to stamp our piracy effectively and not merely just a short visit or two," said Dato Seri Paduka Hj Kifrawi Dato Paduka Hj Kifli.

In truly combating piracy, however, Arjuna Ranasinghe, the General Manager of Tech Distribution, believes that the public should be educated on why they need to take the concept of intellectual property seriously.

"Enforcement (of intellectual property laws in Brunei) is still in its early stage. Before we can even talk about enforcement there should be some sort of awareness programmes out there. With regards to intellectual property the awareness amongst the public is there, but it is not taken seriously yet," the general manager of Brunei's authorised distributor of Microsoft products told The Brunei Times yesterday.

"For example, if you buy a book, you own the pages of the book, but you don't own the content, the text. Say you buy an album, you get the right to listen to the song, but you don't own the songs," he explained.

"For example, I could ask you, what does Microsoft sell? Your obvious answer would be software, but it is not the correct answer. What Microsoft sells, is the right to use their software. If you buy a software pack, you don't own it. Instead you will get the right to use the software."

Brunei's nascent software industry could grow with the enforcement of intellectual property laws as well as the implementation of the legal framework, said Ranasinghe.

"Then only will the local people, as well as the young locals, get more opportunities to do their own developments, not only software, but for other things as well. For the local software industry to grow, the country should have a proper intellectual property legal framework," he said.

There are a few individuals and a few companies in Brunei who are into software development, but "not in a bigger way", he said.

"What we are trying to do here, is to help the IT companies to get in to the Microsoft Partner Program and develop their skills and competencies," he explained.

"What we have seen, most of the time, are bigger projects or bigger solutions for the government or corporate customers. These projects are being undertaken by local companies, but most of the time they don't do the actual solution developments. The actual solutions usually come from a foreign company from a neighbouring country or somewhere else."

"We want the local IT companies to grow their capabilities, so that they are able to create their own solutions locally. We are here to assist them," he said.

Currently, there are more than 100 IT companies in Brunei, according to Ranasinghe, out of which about 20 to 30 are actively participating in the "bigger projects."

Such companies mainly use the Microsoft's infrastructure products. The uses of Developer Technologies amongst IT companies in Brunei are still in the early stages, although there are a few companies trying to use the developer technologies, he said.

Educating the public on the significance of intellectual property is no easy feat, and it cannot be done by the private companies, said a foreign IT professional.

"The government support is very much needed, as the authority, in running intellectual property campaigns. From the legal framework with the legal authorities to enforcement with the police, to classroom education with teachers, the local authorities should take initiatives to ensure that Brunei is respected on a higher level, from the viewpoint of other countries, as a country that respects intellectual property rights." said the IT professional who declined to be named. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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