Ubuntu-Pakistan Software Piracy & the Law - P@SHA (All Pakistan Software House Association)

[Fouad Riaz Bajwa]

Software Piracy & the Law - P at SHA
http://www.pasha.org.pk/html_files/policies_antipiracy.htm 
http://www.bsa.org/middleeast/policy/upload/Pakistan-law.bmp 

What is the law?
Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1992 (The Amendment Act) is now extended to cover
computer software. It is illegal to make or distribute copies of computer
programs without authorization. No other copies may be made without specific
authorization from the copyright owner.

What are the penalties?
Pakistan's copyright law prohibits reproduction of software without
permission from the owner of the copyrighted computer program. If caught
with pirated software, you or your company may be prosecuted under the
provisions of the Copyright Laws. The penalties under the law include a fine
of up to Rs.200,000, seizure of products used for illegal copying, and a
prison sentence of up to three years.

Your responsibilities as a user
Your first responsibility as a software user is to purchase original
programs for your use, every computer at your place of business must have
its own set of original software and accompanying documentation. It is
illegal to purchase a single copy of original software to load onto more
than one computer, or to lend, copy or distribute software for any reason
without the prior consent of the software manufacturer. When purchasing
software, make sure you buy legitimate products. Many counterfeit packaged
products are designed to look similar to the original manufacturer's
products but are of inferior quality. Purchasers and users of counterfeit or
copied software face unnecessary risks: viruses, corrupt disks, or otherwise
defective software (or illegally copied).

Inadequate documentation
Lack of technical product support available to registered users
Lack of software upgrades offered to registered users.
In addition, if you purchase software that is counterfeit or copied, you not
only deny the software developer its rightful revenue, you harm the industry
as a whole. All software developers, both big and small, Pakistani or
foreign spend literally years developing software for public use. A portion
of every rupee spent in purchasing original software is funneled back into
research and development so that better and more advanced software may be
produced. When you purchase counterfeit software, your money goes directly
into the pockets of software pirates.

Government commitment to law enforcement
The Pakistan Government will protect the rights of copyright owners.
Surprise raids will be conducted and deterrent penalties will be imposed.
These raids against software pirates will continue to encourage the purchase
of original software.

Forwarded for Informational Purposes only by 
--------------------------------------------
Fouad Riaz Bajwa
General Secretary - FOSS Advocate
FOSSFP: Free & Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan R Secretariat
Cell: 92-333-4661290
Tel: 92-42-5030039
E-Mail: bajwa at fossfp.org
URL: www.fossfp.org ; www.ubuntu-pk.org
Disclaimer:
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