Microsoft says software piracy may rise in Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): Sales of personal computers (PCs) in Indonesia may increase by more than 20 percent this year, but for PT Microsoft Indonesia this is not necessarily good news.

Microsoft Indonesia president Richard Kartawijaya told reporters on Tuesday that piracy of computer programs, particularly of the company's Windows operating system, will grow even faster with this year's increase in sales.

Richard predicted that software piracy, which reached a staggering 85 percent of programs installed in all PCs in Indonesia in 2000, will return to 92 percent this year, the same level reached in 1999.

Most of the increase in PC sales this year will come from household users and small and medium enterprises, two groups of consumers most likely to ignore copyright laws, he said.

"Only a few people in this country are aware that piracy is against the law, and that there are rules in using the computer," he said, adding that multinational companies were among the minority group in the country who respected copyright laws.

Citing industry figures, Richard said total PC sales in Indonesia this year would soar to 450,000 units from 370,000 units in 2000 and from 210,000 in 1999.

The market share of brand computers, however, would likely decline as locally assembled PCs took the lion's share of the increase in sales this year, he said.

As part of its efforts to eradicate software piracy, Microsoft Indonesia has launched two new facilities for computer users that could significantly cut the costs of accessing its programs -- one by renting programs and the other through subscription.

The first facility allows users to rent Microsoft programs through application service providers, a system available at the German Center in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang.

This method cuts the cost of the system by as much as 40 percent, Richard said. (03/bby)