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Big crackdown on counterfeit softwareGREG GORDON
COUNTERFEIT software uncovered in South Africa in the past three months could have been sold for around R5,5-million, says the Business Software Alliance, (BSA), an industry body representing software publishers. This raises serious concerns that the country is being used as a dumping ground for sub-standard products. The latest haul was a result of six separate raids on resellers in Cape Town and Durban. Marco van der Merwe, a lawyer for the BSA, said the counterfeit products were very sophisticated.
"We have sent the products to BSA laboratories for further testing. Based on what is found there, we will be able to institute legal proceedings." There has been a steady increase in the amount of counterfeit software pushed into South Africa, mostly from Asia. Some is so sophisticated that it includes fake licences. Steve Cope, software legalisation manager for Microsoft South Africa, said: "A substantial amount of the software believed to be counterfeit was Microsoft Office 97. We urge our customers to be aware of the penalties of buying counterfeit, or any pirated software." Microsoft has implemented a "clean dealer" campaign. The idea is to enable users to identify the resellers who have made a commitment to selling only genuine software. The programme was launched following requests from retailers and consumers who want to be sure they are buying legal goods. The penalties for using illegal software can be as high as R5 000 and/or three years in jail, per illegal copy. Software piracy levels peaked in South Africa earlier this decade, when about 80 percent of all software in the country was believed to be pirated. That figure is estimated to be around 40 percent now.
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