FICCI, Software Alliance Collaborate on IP Awareness

30 August 2013

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) to increase IP awareness amongst small and medium enterprises.

Beginning July, 1 2013, FICCI, a non-governmental organization representing Indian businesses, and BSA, a trade group representing global software conglomerates, created a three-year campaign in various states with the intent of creating a positive IP culture.

The campaign will be launched in Gujarat and Rajasthan with capacity building workshops for law enforcement agencies such as police and customs.

ZDNet reported that Yolynd Lobo, BSA’s director for India, said that “IP protection is crucial to drive software innovation in India. The government has already taken steps to foster this culture and we believe such efforts will add further momentum.”

Jyoti Vij, deputy secretary general at FICCI, said that this campaign is intended to create awareness of this important national issue among “all sections of society, including policy makers, legislators, and the Indian public at large.”

A recent study by BSA and graduate business school INSEAD reported that a 1% increase of authentic software usage generates almost US$1.3 billion in national production, compared with US$554 million from a similar increase in pirated software.

As pirated software is rampant across all levels of Indian SMEs, software giants such as Adobe and Microsoft have introduced their products as subscriptions at competitive prices in an effort to make piracy less appealing.

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