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.