RP gov't, industry orgs sign up for anti-piracy campaign By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net Posted date: August 02, 2007 MAKATI CITY, Philippines -- Several government agencies and industry organizations have signed up to an educational campaign to support an anti-piracy program of the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Dubbed as Follow SAM, BSA executives said the campaign hopes to re-introduce the concept of software asset management (SAM) in local companies and in government as a means to discourage use of illegal software, while making sure they optimize use of their "software assets." Ronald Chua, BSA chairman of the Philippines committee, said that SAM had been introduced in the Philippines several years ago, but the result was "below their expectations." The re-launching hopes to spark more interest among local companies, now that it is backed by at least 10 industry organizations and four government organizations. The campaign is endorsed by the Department of Trade and Industry, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology. From the private sector, the campaign is supported by the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc., Association of Consultant Civil Engineers of the Philippines, Association of Government Internal Auditors, Business Process Association of the Philippines, Cebu Software Development Industry Association Inc., Contact Center Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines Inc., Philippine Internet Service Organization, and the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA). Reacting to questions on how this campaign will reduce software piracy in corporations and government, PISO President William Torres said the concept of "software as an asset" remains vague in the country. "We don't put much value on software in the Philippines because we can easily get it for free. SAM is trying to connect software to the idea of it being a company asset. In a campaign to convince companies not to use illegal software, it should hammer on the idea that software is now an asset," Torres said. John Lesaca, chairman of IP Coalition, admitted that concept of software asset management in the country is new, and is hard to understand. But he believes that the BSA campaign hopes to help companies understand that software or intellectual property, in general, can now substitute as collateral for companies. "If you cannot protect your intellectual property, then this will affect your business," Lesaca said. Protecting IP assets, he added, includes protecting the rights of the software owners. Fermin Taruc, president of PSIA, said that the Philippines requires strong IPR protection to compete in the global market. "Our support is a gesture of our solidarity in IPR protection," Taruc added. Meanwhile, Roland Chan, BSA regional marketing manager for Asia Pacific, said SAM is "set of practice and policy" that tries to determine how companies use their software. Chan said BSA hopes local companies would adopt it. Asked how the software asset management program would directly reduce software piracy among corporate users and government, Chan said it would enable companies to identify illegal software being used within their organizations following an audit. The Philippines' piracy rate stands at 71 percent, according to the latest report from BSA' website. ©Copyright 2001-2008 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=80188