According to the International Property Code of the Philippines, software piracy is a violation and may incur up to nine years imprisonment and a fine of up to 1.5 million pesos (US $35,000). In order to curb this violation, officials from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) recently carried […]
Vietnamese government cracks down on software copyright
A French design, survey and construction consultancy is to be fined under the Vietnamese Law on Intellectual Property Ownership for copyright infringement. This is due to a recent discovery of illegal software programs worth about US$400, 000 by the Inspectors of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Hanoi police. Interestingly enough, this is […]
Singapore Police Raids For Illegal Software
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has called on businesses to take immediate steps for ensuring that they are using only legal and licensed software following a raid on 18 June 2007 by the Singapore Police Force on a Land Surveying Professional Consultancy for suspected use of unlicensed and illegal software. The police raid, prompted by […]
Malaysia Cultivating a culture of “going original”
The Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (“MTDCA”) in July launched the campaign “Ops Sikap Tulen”, which means ‘to cultivate in people a culture of going original’, in order to intensify its combat against software piracy. This innovative campaign has been launched to educate the public to respect intellectual property rights. The Minister […]
Infringement In Indonesia – Enforcement by Criminal Action
Indonesia today faces major challenges in respect counterfeiting and infringement, as it is a widespread problem here affecting every area of industry from drugs to electronic products and from CDs to garments. As an example, in the pharmaceutical industry, around 20-30% of the drugs sold in Indonesia are thought to be counterfeit. The Indonesian government […]
Malaysia – Dogs Tackle IP Crimes
Once perceived as a “haven” for piracy activities, Malaysia has responded to such a portrayal with a positive salvo to eliminating this negative outlook. With a view to attracting and safeguarding local and foreign investments in the country, the authorities have been resorting to various measures to eradicate this menace. It is therefore not surprising […]
Singapore Gets Serious With Online Music Piracy, even for non-profit
In a new development the Courts in Singapore have for the first time imposed a custodial sentence on individuals for distributing music online in breach of the Copyright Act. Under the Singapore Copyright Act there is a separate section dealing with non-profit making offences, which carry a maximum sentence of up to five years imprisonment […]
Singapore on Top 10 List , Thanks to Successful Enforcement
Singapore was ranked ninth among the top 10 best-performing countries in addressing counterfeiting and piracy in a survey conducted by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The next and only Asian country ahead of Singapore, ranking fifth, on the 29-country list was Japan. In a separate list of 53 countries, observing the most serious […]
Ring Tones in Malaysia – Music to the Ears?
The music industry has received a major boost as it now has new income source in downloadable mobile phone ring tones. Introduced to Malaysia in 2004, the mobile ringtone business has grown tremendously. It is now being perceived as being the “saviour” of the otherwise down sliding Malaysian music industry. One can truly say that […]