Piracy suits don't deter illegal software dealers
Piracy suits don't deter illegal software dealers
JAKARTA (JP): The business of selling pirated software here
remains brisk, despite legal action in two separate courts taken
by the giant software company, the Microsoft Corporation, against
five computer dealers over software piracy.
The dealers, PT Panca Putra Komputindo, HM Computer, HJ
Computer, Altec Computer and PT Kusumo Megah Jaya Sakti, are
charged with allegedly installing Microsoft products on computers
they sold, without complying with the terms of the product
license.
Microsoft is demanding that each company pay between US$1
million to US$ 5 million in damages. The courts are expected to
present the verdicts on Monday and next month.
However, the charges have not discouraged traders in Mangga
Dua shopping mall in North Jakarta, where they have their
computer shops, from selling pirated software products.
Mangga Dua shopping mall is well-known among people here as a
haven for pirated software.
Even a shop named Procom, which reportedly belongs to one of
the accused, has continued its business as usual.
When asked whether the shop still sold pirated software, the
attendant replied, "Yes, maybe until all stocks have run out."
"We couldn't halt our business just because of that (the
case). I have five staff members here and we all have to live,"
said Margareta, a computer dealer in Harco Mangga Dua Plaza.
She said almost all computer dealers there provided pirated
software as well as originals for their customers.
"But most of them prefer to buy pirated software since the
price is cheaper," she told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Her shop sells computer hardware and accessories, including
software, ink and paper. It provides branded PCs as well as
assembled ones.
For each PC, it also installs standard software such as
pirated Microsoft Office 2000 and Windows 1998.
According to Margareta, in a day it could sell up to five PCs
at most and over 10 pirated software CD-ROMs.
Meanwhile, another dealer, Ah Ngo, blamed software producers
since they sold their products at "exorbitant prices".
"They have never considered that consumers here are not as
wealthy as those abroad. Never!" he said, adding that consumers
here also deserve to enjoy new technology, like their
counterparts in other countries.
Ah Ngo said the price of an assembled computer could be as low
as Rp 6 million (US$612.2) including pirated software, while the
lowest price for an original computer and software from Microsoft
is over Rp 15 million.
According to Ah Ngo, the computer business is very competitive
these days. Therefore, computer hardware dealers have to provide
pirated software as well so that "they can beat the competition".
"I know that it is against the law, but I am not afraid. This
mall would be empty should police arrest us for such an offense
since we all sell pirated software here," he said, adding that
many street vendors also sold pirated software CD-ROMs there.
However, he admitted that he displayed fewer pirated software
CD-ROMs in his shop, although he still installed pirated software
on PCs he sold.
Besides computer dealers in Mangga Dua shopping mall, those in
Ratu Plaza, also known as a computer trading center, in South
Jakarta, also provide pirated software alongside originals.
Most of the shop attendants there insisted that they only
provided pirated software to give a wider choice to customers,
while the decision on what to buy depended on them.
Separately, a private university student, Franky, commented
that the presence of pirated software was "very helpful" for
computer users like he, who could not afford to pay for
originals.
"The price of original software is very high. It can reach
hundreds of dollars. I am only a university student, how could I
possibly afford it?" he told the Post.
According to a lawyer for Microsoft, Indonesia ranked sixth in
the world, of countries with the most serious copyright
violations.(04)