Microsoft sales jump after piracy lawsuit

Microsoft sales jump after piracy lawsuit

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

U.S. giant software company Microsoft Inc., has experienced a
rise in software sales in Indonesia after it won a lawsuit
against local dealers for software piracy last year.

Andrew Mcbean, president director of PT Microsoft Indonesia
said on Wednesday that the company's software sales in Indonesia
had increased by up to 300 percent since then.

"We are able to track the sales of genuine operating system on
pcs. And every month, it has been a new record of sales," Andrew
told The Jakarta Post after the launching of Microsoft Indonesia
Information Technology for Children called INTERAKSI.

However, Mcbean declined to reveal the sales figure.

Last year, PT Microsoft Indonesia won a lawsuit for software
piracy against five local pc dealers.

On Sept. 25, 2001, Microsoft won the case against computer
dealer PT Kusumo Megah Jaya Sakti, which was ordered by the West
Jakarta District Court to compensate the U.S. company some US$
4.4 million.

A month later, Microsoft also won a case against four computer
dealers namely PT Panca Putra Komputindo, Altec Computer, HJ
Computer and HM. The Central Jakarta District Court ordered the
four to pay the plaintiff a total compensation of $4.7 million.

All five were proven guilty of violating Microsoft's
intellectual property rights by installing pirated versions of
Microsoft's operating system Windows 1998 and Microsoft Office
2000 in computers sold to their customers.

Indonesia itself is a haven for software piracy.

The Business Software Alliance named Indonesia as one of the
worst offenders of software piracy. Indonesia ranks third after
Vietnam and China.

However, Mcbean said penetration of Microsoft software in
locally built computers was still very little. He said that only
six percent of locally built computers used the Microsoft
operating system, compared to 98 percent of foreign built
computers.

"We have a long way to go. But we are working on it and we
keep reminding people of our intellectual property rights," he
remarked.

In addition, Mcbean said, Microsoft business in Indonesia had
been growing well with the total business growth this year
reaching up to 35 percent.

Apart from business, PT Microsoft Indonesia carries out
community programs aimed at introducing information technology to
disadvantaged and disabled children.

Called INTERAKSI, the program has been specifically designed
to provide a wide range of opportunities to both disabled and
underprivileged children to ensure their right to education and
access to information through computer skills training.

First launched in 1999, the program has now entered the 3rd
and 4th phase.

According to Mcbean, so far, the program has contributed more
than Rp 1.9 billion in both cash and technology support,
assisting 10 NGOs where 700 children have obtained their
education through a computer skills training program.