Vietnam’s personal computer (PC) software piracy rate fell 2 percent to 83 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, marking the first fall after three consecutive years of unchanged piracy rate of 85 percent.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) released the figure in its 2010 Global Software Piracy Study in early June.

According to BSA spokesman Dao Anh Tuan, the progress was the result of enormous efforts made by Vietnam in recent years in improving the legal framework for protecting software copyright and enhancing education and enforcement activities.

BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman said the report showed the importance of educational activities to the government, enterprises and consumers on the risks of software copyright infringement as well as solutions to terminate the issues.

Through the activities, Vietnamese people have gained better understanding on intellectual property, especially its role in boosting economic growth.

According to experts, to get Vietnam ’s software piracy rate down to the regional level of around 60 percent, there is still much more to be done by the Vietnamese Government, including dealing with violators who are consumers to improve their awareness.
“This will benefit Vietnam thanks to GPD growth, increased job opportunities and tax income for the government,” Tuan said.
The report, done in 116 countries around the world, also said that in 2010, the commercial value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in Vietnam still amounted to 412 million USD compared to 353 million USD in 2009.
According to Dr. Vu Manh Chu, Head of the Vietnam Copyright Department, raising awareness on software copyright will help reduce the piracy rate, contributing to not only improving Vietnam ’s business environment for foreign investors but also boosting the country’s software industry.
A software copyright protection programme has been conducted by BSA in cooperation with the Vietnam Copyright Department and the inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism since 2008.
The programme has just launched a campaign to encourage computer dealers not to install counterfeit software to new computers./.