The recent legal suit by a US lawmaker against an Indian textile company for allegedly using “stolen IT” has set the alarm bell ringing for companies using pirated hardware or software, while dealing with their foreign trade partners. With governments under pressure to protect their national workforce in this period of recession, it is hardly surprising that they want their overseas trade partners to follow every rule in the book.
This means that companies that export goods to US for sales purposes, are at risk of losing business and facing investigations if they are caught using software assets that are not genuine. In this context, companies using duplicate IT in their supply chain cannot sell goods within the US , one of the largest importers of Indian goods. In a broader sense, this law aims at providing a level playing field to all businesses.
According to experts, global economic policy has invariably affected the performance of the export sector. Under the duress of prevalent downturn, prevention of “unfair competition” is likely to become a global movement, spelling opportunity for others and creating issues for nations that do not adapt to these reforms.
The apprehension with software compliance in Indian businesses lies in the fact that it is perceived as a major expense. But IT experts differ. They say, if evaluated, the cost of IT in any organisation is negligible as compared to other expenses. In fact, India can gain an upper hand with export competitors like China and Pakistan where software piracy is high. There is a clear opportunity for Indian businesses to command a higher export pie by sticking to original software.
As per a study by Business Software Alliance (BSA) the levels of piracy in India are lower than those of competing markets, which is a great plus point for India . For example, piracy is a humungous problem in Bangladesh . According to the study, the country ranks first in the Asia-Pacific region and second highest in the world for use of illegal IT.
Technology experts point out that if Indian businesses comply, it would give them an opportunity to gain larger market share from defaulting nations and attain a prominent position before they take remedial action, which they will, to stabilise their position.
legal hassles not withstanding, even technically, copied software is dicey since there is no back-end support and programs may be functionally crippled and prone to work improperly. Moreover, anti-piracy checks hidden by programmers can randomly corrupt data and secretly report proof of illicit activities to the program developers.
It is high time, policymakers frame laws for wiping out IT piracy and enhance India ’s reputation as a nation that promotes ethical business practices not just at the global level but also at home.