The Business Software Alliance (BSA)has identified Thailand as one of nine priority countries in the fight against piracy, and is encouraging the Government to meet international standards in copyright law.
BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman told Database that on this year's Asian trip he only visited China and Thailand to show how important it is to the market that the issue of software piracy is tackled.
The BSA, which covers more than 80 countries, identified China, Brazil, Russia,India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Turkey and Thailand as having the highest rates of piracy.
Furthermore, Thailand is a priority also because both its home PC market and business IT usage are experiencing rapid growth.
Even through the Government has made progress in the bid to reduce software piracy over the past few years, its rate of 76 percent of software sold in 2008 being pirated is still higher than the Asia Pacific average of 61 percent.
Moreover, the drop in the value of the dollar is further adding to the losses caused by software piracy, with the 2008 figure rising to $609 million (20.5 billion baht), compared to $468 million (15.8 billion baht) in 2007.
Jeffrey Hardee, BSA vice president and regional director Asia Pacific added that Thailand does have an intellectual property policy but the Government needs to do more to persuade business users to respect the law and to educate them in better software management,to not only protect the local software industry but also promote growth and productivity.
He added that Thailand's Copyright Act should match the international benchmark in keeping with WIPO Treaties to promote online business and digital rights management to protect software available in legitimate form,including new environment distribution platforms such as Cloud Computing.
Moreover, the law should also apply to Internet Service Providers who fail to take action against illegal websites after being notified of them.
Hardee said:"It's important to note Thailand's neighbours, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, have already implemented - or are nearing readiness for - solutions to piracy."
Holleyman continued that the plan is for the Asean nations to harmonise their Intellectual Property (IP) laws by 2015, to ensure a free flow of trade in the region and fully implement WIPO Treaties.
The region should learn from the European Union, the world's largest common market, in how it protects software, digital content and e-commerce, as well as battles cyber crime.
The IP issue is growing in importance as social and economic infrastructures including health care and environmental issues are increasingly reliant on software,both nationally and globally.
"The questions that any government should ask is how well we are going to use IT and software to reduce those problems," said Holleyman.
Moreover, the recent announcement of the Creative Thailand initiative shows the value of Intellectual Property rights,as copyrighted products help to build innovation, boost the economy and increase the country's competitiveness internationally.
If Thailand can show it is successfully tackling software piracy, the benefits will be felt not only locally but also in terms of its global reputation.
This will make boost recognition for Thailand as an attractive investment destination more than mere advertising, as foreign investors will see strong Intellectual Property protection laws as an asset.
Holleyman concluded:"Although piracy is hard to deal with, it is possible Thailand can significantly reduce piracy rates in a short period and ensure that businesses use legitimate software.
"Some countries have already done this successfully. For example, Russia has reduced its piracy rate by 10 percent in two years, while Italy has reduced by more than 10 percent within one year.
"Even in a recession, I am optimistic that piracy will continue to decrease if the Government and businesses stay focused on the value of clean software."
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