The BSA, an antipiracy trade group supported by over 20 software companies including Microsoft and Adobe Systems, is offering a maximum reward of S$20,000 (US$12,1192) for information on copyright infringements by local firms.
The public can choose to tip BSA off through a new toll-free hotline or the group's Web site, said Tarun Sawney, director for antipiracy for BSA in Asia.
Previously, the payment was capped at S$10,000 (US$6,096), although BSA has paid out twice the amount on a few occasions in Singapore and Malaysia, he said.
BSA's announcement comes hot on the heels of recent changes to the island-state's intellectual property rights laws as stipulated by the Free Trade Agreement inked between Singapore and the United States.
Under the revisions which came into effect last month, individuals and companies can now face a double-whammy of criminal and civil lawsuits for using bootleg software. Beyond hefty fines and jail terms imposed by local authorities, software companies can also file civil action against the law breakers, who could be liable to pay damages of up to S$200,000 (US$129,930). The penalty could be raised if the company can prove it has suffered greater losses.
To facilitate such legal action, the BSA will verify the information it has received from the public and pass on what it deems to be “serious copyright violations” to the police as well as its members, Sawney said. The group plans to embark on a new advertising campaign to raise the awareness of this program.
This comes on top of the BSA's ongoing efforts to educate businesses on the importance of copyright compliance. For example, the BSA, in partnership with other bodies like the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, has organized a series of seminars in the past few years to educate local companies on the impact of the new legislation.
While there are other threats such as downloading illegal software via file-sharing networks, under-licensing--where companies buy one copy of the software but make illegal copies or install it on multiple machines--continues to be blamed for the bulk of piracy losses here.
"Corporate end user piracy is the most damaging form of piracy," stressed Jeffrey Hardee, BSA Asia's vice president and regional director.
According to an IDC study released last year, the piracy rate in Singapore in 2003 stood at 43 percent, translating to losses of over US$90 million for the local software industry. On a regional front, the piracy rate in 2003 was 53 percent, while the global average was 36 percent. The research firm's worldwide piracy study for 2004 will be released this May.
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