The personal computer software piracy rate in Vietnam fell two percentage points down to 83% last year, remarking the first decrease after three consecutive years with the unchanged rate of 85% in 2007-2009, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said.

Dr. Vu Manh Chu

This result comes from the 2010 BSA Global Software Piracy Study.

However, the report said the commercial value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in the country reached US$412 million last year, higher than US$353 million in 2009.

Personal computers in the study include desktops, laptops, and ultra-portables such as netbooks.

The report, which assesses the state of software piracy around the world, is conducted by BSA in partnership with IDC, a leading market research and forecasting firm in the global information technology industry. BSA is a global body working in 80 countries to expand software markets and create conditions for innovation and growth.

Dao Anh Tuan, a spokesperson with BSA in Vietnam, described the country’s fall in the piracy rate as progress.

“This progress is the result of enormous efforts made by the government of Vietnam in recent years in improving legal framework for protection of software copyright and enhancing both educational and enforcement activities,” he said.

“To get the rate down to the Asia-Pacific level of around 60%, there is still much more work to be done by the government, including targeting piracy in consumer groups for more education.”

BSA has worked with the Copyright Office of Vietnam and the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in a partnership since 2008 to tackle software piracy.

In May, the partnership launched a national educational campaign targeting computer shops in order to reduce installation of illegal software in new PCs for consumers.

Remarking the new move, Dr. Vu Manh Chu, Director of the Copyrights Office of Vietnam, said, “Raising public awareness of respect of software copyrights would help reduce the piracy rate, which in turn would not only improve Vietnam’s investment environment for foreign investors but also promote development of Vietnam’s software industry.”

Source: SGGP