Original software 'secures Internet cafe business'

Original software 'secures Internet cafe business'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When he opened his warnet (Internet cafe) business five years
ago, Roy installed pirated software for only Rp 20,000 (US$2) a
computer.

In time, his warnet business in Tebet, South Jakarta,
flourished and he was able to buy more desktop computers also
installed with copied software.

But a suggestion from the Indonesian Internet Cafe Association
(AWARI) chairwoman Judith MS Lubis changed Roy's way of business.
Judith told him that by installing original software would make
his business legitimate.

"So, I decided to install original Microsoft Windows Home
Edition programs for all 13 desktop computers at my warnet,
although I have had to spend about Rp 9.6 million to do so," Roy
said on Monday.

Roy, however, is only one of about 500 Internet cafe owners
nationwide who have installed original software to run their
business. AWARI estimates that about 90 percent of its 5,000
members still use unlicensed software.

Warnet with illegal software, a violation of Law No. 19/2002
on copyright protection, were the recent target of police raids
in Jakarta and other cities in Java. Perpetrators can be
sentenced to a maximum of five years' jail and fined up to Rp 500
million.

Judith said so far AWARI had received reports that two
Internet cafes had been completely shut down by police as "they
failed to show an end-user license to them".

With 87 percent of software on the market estimated to be
copied, according to a study by the Business Software Alliance
(BSA), Indonesia ranked fifth in global software piracy after
Vietnam, the Ukraine, China and Zimbabwe two years running in
2003 and 2004.

The BSA has opened a hotline number -- 0800-1-272-272 -- to
allow the public to participate in the government campaign to
curb piracy. The international organization is offering Rp 50
million in cash for any solid evidence or reports of software
piracy.

In another effort to increase Internet cafe owners' awareness
on copyright law, the AWARI take a roadshow to Jakarta, Bandung,
Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Medan and Denpasar.

"We will kick off the roadshow in Yogyakarta on Thursday by
organizing a workshop to train trainers who will help internet
cafe owners operate their businesses in accordance with the
regulations," Judith said.

Microsoft director for small and mid-markets Megawaty Khie
said the company would support the association's move. The
campaign followed up the Microsoft Software Rental Agreement for
Internet Cafes the firm and AWARI signed in April, allowing
warnet owners to buy licensed Microsoft software gradually.

Microsoft would also offer training on the use of its
technology, the implementation of licenses and marketing, she
said.

Judith said AWARI would encourage Internet cafes to set a
standard price for their services in a bid to avoid unhealthy
competition. (001)