Views can be starkly different even if they are about the same
thing.
If what US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said last week is
right, China will face a disastrous situation in combating
production and sales of illegal and pirated software. Gutierrez
said that up to 70 percent of software on computers used by Chinese
government agencies was pirated.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA), an international digital
organization, claimed China's computer software piracy rate could
be up to 90 percent.
Echoing Gutierrez and being equally sensational, the alliance's
figure is nullifying all the efforts the Chinese government has
made to crack down on piracy.
If the BSA statistics hold water, it would mean China's total
market value of software, whose output last year stood at about 39
million yuan (US$4.9 million), would balloon to 10 times its size
and account for one fourth of the country's total gross domestic
product. That is impossible in any sense, especially considering
that China remains a developing country with a nascent information
industry.
Officials from intellectual property-related agencies admitted
at yesterday's press conference that there may be some government
agencies and individuals using pirated software despite tightened
government control. But it would be against the fact to depict
China as a dark place where most of its government departments and
individuals are using unauthorized software products.
Some developed countries require that China be a pure land where
no pirated software products exist. That is understandable since
they are major information product exporters. But even on their own
soil, pirated software remains a problem, with varied levels of
seriousness.
The Chinese authorities have been taking great efforts to clamp
down on illegal software products and to protect intellectual
property rights.
The country has spent heavily to ensure its government agencies
purchase authorized software products. The central government alone
will put in 140-150 million yuan (US$17.5-18.8 million).
China has dealt with an increasing number of IPR-related cases.
Last year alone, 107 million pieces of pirated products were
confiscated.
Since 2000, the Supreme People's Court has promulgated 25
documents interpreting IPR issues.
The recent lawsuit in which five famous international brand
names won the case and were awarded compensation from a Chinese
shopping mall for selling copies of their products, testifies to
the country's judicial resolve to protect intellectual property
rights.
China will continue its relentless efforts in that
direction.
(China Daily April 20, 2006)