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Software Piracy

Since 1994 Softlok has had an office in Bucharest Romania where our hardware products are assembled and some of our development work is performed and we have seen at first hand the problem of software piracy.

I would estimate Software piracy in 1994 was close to 100%. The reasons were simple.

It would be great to be able to report now (in 2000) that things had dramatically changed but unfortunately this is not the case. Still around 86% of software in use (1998 figure) is illegal. Although in 1996 copyright laws were introduced outlawing pirated software the state of the economy is still appalling (average monthly salary remaining less than 100USD) and the availability of pirated software cheaper and easier to find than legal software. There are now a number of distributors of legal software and companies such as Microsoft have opened subsidiaries here but this does not seem to have made much impact. Some software from companies such as Microsoft is available in localised versions but these tend to cost more here than in the west. The famous Romanian government bureaucracy dramatically holds back local software companies from growing as well as scaring off foreign subsidiaries but of course does not affect the pirates who operate outside of the law.

It is a fact that although computer sales in Romania have risen dramatically sales of software (even operating systems) have not increased. This means that either most companies are writing their own operating systems and application software, a little unlikely, or they are using pirated copies. When we purchased a new Pentium III computer recently the dealer was shocked when we also ordered a licensed copy of Windows 98. The stupid point was that we could only legally obtain the first version of Windows 98 with it’s well know instability but if we had opted for a pirated version available on every street corner we could have the latest updated version.

Kiosk selling pirated software and music

What about the enforcement of the copyright laws? On every street corner in the capital city, Bucharest, you can find kiosks or tables full of pirated software and audio CD’s (see photographs). Some of the CD’s contain hundreds of applications worth perhaps $10,000-$20,000 and sell for $3. The latest versions of software are available at these sources long before they are available legally. These dealers are not hidden in side streets but located in main squares and on main shopping streets. The police here can regularly be seen standing smoking cigarettes and joking with these pirates, who probably have to pay to avoid problems, so they cannot argue that they can’t catch them at it. Why does the local city authority not do something about this problem? They do have the power because they were able to close down many unauthorised kiosks selling books on the main shopping street because they looked untidy for potential foreign visitors. Maybe the enforcers could not get a big enough cut from the sale of books and prefer software pirates!

Tables full of CDs with pirated software

Another enforcer of the law is the Business Software Alliance (BSA) who have opened an office here. They have several roles including the prosecution of pirate software users, education and lobbying the government. Most of the cases I have seen prosecuted by the BSA have been end users, usually companies that have purchased fewer licensed copies than are being used. This is fine but they seem to be powerless against the pirates producing and selling the illegal software, which must surely be a priority. Of course it is impossible to stop the pirates 100% but a reduction would help software companies finance subsidiaries here and make inroads into this problem by providing a real advantage to the end user to purchase licensed versions. Advantages would include the ability to purchase with local currency, proper technical support and perhaps translated software and manuals. The BSA perhaps underestimates the different reasons behind piracy in Romania compared to the US. In the US most users of illegal software do so because they do not wish to pay for it. In Romania many users cannot afford to pay for it, although this obviously does not excuse them. It is easy to say that if a company can afford a computer then they can afford the software, but it is not always the case in an economy such as Romania. A computer can be bought for $600 but the average user requires a further $600 for software which is like saying that if a driver can afford a Ford he can afford a Mercedes! Perhaps if the pirate’s influence could be reduced by the combined effort of the police, local authorities and the BSA then software companies could have more attractive pricing policies in countries such as Romania, which would have a greater affect than merely prosecuting end users. The BSA is also open to abuse by authorities here and can unwittingly be used as a threat or as political revenge and so should be very careful about it’s sources of information.

In conclusion Romania is a country with little hope of solving this problem in the near future. It is clear that the authorities do not have any desire to solve this problem at root level and the BSA is the only body making any real efforts in this area. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years.