BSA opens Indonesian office

JAKARTA: Software industry watchdog Business Software Alliance (BSA) launched its Indonesian operation on Tuesday, saying that its main aim was to help stamp out the problem of computer program piracy in the country.

BSA Indonesia will be focusing on providing education for computer users regarding copyrights and what impact illegal practices might have on the economy.

A media release said that as this country has the third largest business software piracy rate in the world, it was one of the main reasons why BSA opened a branch in Indonesia.

The other reason was to help reduce the industry piracy rate worldwide, which in 2001 had grown to 40 percent from 37 percent a year before.

BSA said Vietnam remained the worst offender, with 94 percent of all its computer programs in use pirated in 2001. China ranked second with a piracy rate of 92 percent, followed by Indonesia, which had an 88 percent piracy rate. --JP