Microsoft says software piracy may rise in Indonesia

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)