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How Microsoft wants to tackle software piracy in Pakistan
THE cost of the licensed versions of WindowsXP Professional and OfficeXP Professional combined is higher than what an average Pakistani earns in a whole year — which means the software, so crucial for today’s computing, is unaffordable to a typical Pakistani computer user.
The obvious choice, hence, is to use pirated software available on a CD that can be bought anywhere for a mere 25 to 30 rupees. Almost all the home users, and most of the commercial users too, indulge in this “crime” without giving a thought to the rights of Microsoft, the owner of the intellectual property known as Microsoft Windows, Office and other software.
It is a fact that in countries where there is respect for intellectual property, the pace of progress has been very fast. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, we find little consideration for intellectual property rights (IPR). In the past, our rulers talked of their resolve to tansform Pakistan into another Asian tiger like Singapore or Malaysia, but they lacked the will to convert their words into action. A corrupt law-enforcement machinery and a toothless judiciary have played their part in further aggravating the problem.
While this issue needs to be tackled carefully, sometimes overzealous officials make an overkill, and the party committing a felony comes out with a long tale of woes. In a recent crackdown, BSA (Business Software Alliance), representing business software publishers in 65 countries, swooped down on a large business concern that was using illegal software, and fined them a whopping Rs3.5 million.
Apparently, because of some adverse response from the local trade and industry in the wake of that action, Jawwad Rehman, Microsoft country manager in Pakistan, felt the need to explain to Dawn Sciencedotcom, “Microsoft is a component of BSA, but we are here to build bridges and to develop long-term business relationships. But whenver BSA takes action against illegal use of software, it is Microsoft that gets all the blame — perhaps because we are the biggest market shareholders.”
He pointed out that despite the discounts that have been offered to the educational sector — in some case as high as 90 per cent — there appears to be no end in sight to pirating Microsoft software.
“How could a company be willing to invest in an environment where its business interests are not safeguarded?” he complained. “Do you know how much Microsoft in Pakistan because of piracy every year? Twenty million dollars!”
Jawwad Rehman sees piracy as a social issue. “To be really frank, piracy is not limited to software. I have known so many companies, both local and MNCs; and individuals — writers, singers and composers, who are loosing money that was rightfully theirs.”
When asked why he felt the need to take a defensive posture about piracy, he came out with this explanation, “No, we aren’t taking a defensive stand. Our stand is that piracy is bad for our country. Actually, we are actively engaged with the government on this point. We also go to the public and talk about piracy being bad even for the users. Had we been defensive at all, we would have kept mum about this issue because that’s our country’s biggest problem.”
But the point he wanted to make was, “We do not want to be belligerent about it. It is just that we do not want to project the impression that we want everybody to stop using the technology, or that this technology is too expensive.”
When asked whether everybody in Pakistan — individuals and business concerns alike — was using pirated software, he cautiously said, “Piracy for Microsoft basic tools is definitely high in Pakistan, but since there is no method to really make a count, I think it would suffice to say that the majority is using it.”
The common perception is that legal software has a very high price tag. But Jawwad tends to disagree, “This is a misconception. You can buy a Windows version for less than 90 dollars; and if you want to buy a very high-end Windows version, it comes for as little as 130 dollars.
“I think that if computer vendors and suppliers start selling hardware with the legal operating system, the issue could be resolved — at least to that extent. The users must realize that when they buy a computer, they pay for the hardware but end up with illegal software and that is, nevertheless, a crime. I have my sympathies for those who still think that we are very lenient and that they can easily get away with using pirated software on their machines.”
“We are not after the poor student who prepares his school assignment on his PC. We are talking about organization that are generating revenues by using stolen technology. Many of them think that just because it’s so cheap, they don’t have to pay anything for it.”
He said, “In Pakistan, we have offered 25 per cent off the prices that are charged in the developed world. Comparing the prices, they are a little higher in India than in Pakistan — besides, you know that India’s per capita income is less than Pakistan’s.”
However, over here, Jawwad pointed out, “Pricing never been a real issue. In the education sector, for example, we offer 90 percent discount. We also offer attractive discounts for advertising agencies and newspapers, but instead of jumping on these massive discounts, the companies involved in education, advertising or media businesses are still using pirated versions. No . . . it is not the issue of pricing — it is a social issue, an issue of awareness, implementation of and respect for law; it is the issue of understanding what will happen if we don’t really support intellectual property in Pakistan.” Calling this complacency a cancer to the society, he posed a query, “How would you feel if you came up with a creative idea and someone else copied it, or used it, to make money, without your permission? Wouldn’t you prefer to do business somewhere else where your intellectual rights are actually protected.”
Speaking on how the industry is suffering from software piracy, he said, “Because we are a huge company with a lot of cash flow and long-term plans, for Microsoft piracy is not such a big problem, but think of a company which consists of five or six individuals earning 50,000 or 100,000 rupees each. They can’t survive in this sort of a market. Consider, for a moment, who’s making money at their cost. They are the ones who get a CD of the software, and reproduce by the thousand. There are storage shelves that are overflowing with illegal stuff, selling stolen software for a mere 30 or 40 rupees. These are the guys who are making real money.”
Replying to a question about the status of software piracy in China, Jawwad said, “China still rates very high in terms of piracy. It is rated number two, after Vietnam, according to published figures. However, at the same time, Chinese government has done a lot about it recently. For instance, they have specific commitments towards Microsoft in terms of providing protection from piracy. They have taken specific steps to ensure that our investments are protected.”
He explained, “As we understand it, piracy will never go away entirely; but that does not mean we shouldn’t fight it. We’re aiming at bringing about a change in attitude... the thinking that you have a right to use the stolen stuff. Let’s see this from a different angle. when you use the pirated versions of Microsoft products, it is you who’s the the victim because you are paying the money to someone who doesn’t actually own that product. It is then that this becomes a social issue.” Stressing that piracy is a social issue that really needs to be addressed forthwith, Jawwad said, “Piracy is anti-society for the reason that you are giving money to people who have not ‘earned’ it. This money can be used for criminal activities . . . for all the bad things that start with ill-gotten money.”
Speaking of his company’s expectations, he said, “We are obviously not asking for a hundred percent piracy-free country but it sure needs to be taken care of for the betterment of society.”
On how the company can help government of Pakistan, Jawwad said Microsoft has submitted several proposals. Giving the highlights of the latest proposal, he said, “It’s about the basic technology and the roadmap of the technology that is going to come here in the next few years. The government is to take complete ownership of the technology, instead of focusing on licensing of different versions. They can become partners and deploy the new technology just as they want to, in ways that suit them best.”
Talking about the requirements of education sector, Jawwad said, “We want to set up technology to benefit schools, colleges and universities according to their needs. We can also offer larger technologies and let these institutes have unprecedented flexibility through our technology. As you know, Microsoft has much more to offer to educational institutions. For instance, integrating our latest technology within the curriculum, teaching greater things to the student community. It all starts with building relationships. So, we are working from that perspective, and in the next few months we will announce our education strategy for even the private education institutions in Pakistan. It is something we are looking forward to. We are working hard for it and for that purpose we have got approved a lot of subsidies and support from our regional management.
“Microsoft has much to offer to software house in Pakistan. They have some great solutions and all they need is someone to market them. However, since these people are not using legal software, they get afraid of Microsoft. We are also trying to solve that issue. We have a very attractive offer for the software houses in Pakistan; we’ll make them Microsoft certified partners, which is a world-recognized status.”
“In Pakistan, about twenty software houses are already our certified partners. A ‘certified partner’ is globally recognized and some of them are selling us technologies. This is to ensure that these people are solution developers.
“We are investing in training people from about ten software houses in Pakistan. This training is scheduled to start on Oct 26 and end a day before Ramazan. We have given the participants a 90-95 percent discount. After training they will get certificates that are globally recognized. Besides, they will be able to train others.”
Since its arrival in Pakistan, Microsoft has always focussed on building partnerships and training professionals. Jawwad talked about them with pride. “About 1400 of our partners are spread in Pakistan. All of them started from one-man shop and grew to a workplace of two to three hundred people — all of them looking for adding value, selling their services, and training! And we are providing them just that!”
Talking about what Microsoft is offering to small and medium enterprises, Jawwad said, “We are offering them internet access, automation, training and a secure and safe computing environment. It is all future oriented. We hope that SMEs also see the benefit in terms of what they get out of our offer.”
The writer
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