The
Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration
with the Hi-tech Crime Police Bureau (Ministry of Public Security), raided
scores of firms in cities across the country last month.
The largest infringement value was by ZOOM Co,
based in Phan Ke Binh Street, Da Kao Ward, HCM City. On October 6, the
inter-ministerial taskforce found Autodesk's Discreet Flame mainstream
software, a specialised software tool used for television programme
post-production processing.
Autodesk Discreet Flame is said to be worth
VND4 billion (nearly US$200,000).
ZOOM was a supposedly reputable firm in media
post-production, professional design, photography and so on, run by a foreign
owner.
The taskforce also found illicit software at
Asia Development and Architecture Technology Consulting Joint-stock Company in
Le Van Luong Street, Ha Noi.
Vice inspector of the Ministry of Culture,
Sports and Tourism Pham Xuan Phuc said the ZOOM incident implied computer
software ownership was not being respected.
Phuc said use of free professional software
tools for business purposes also gave Zoom an unfair advantage over competitors
who had paid for their software. A company that operated in the field of
artistic creation and was run by expatriate owners should have been aware of
all the issues, he said.
"Some foreign companies, while having a
thorough understanding of intellectual property – they would sue someone
immediately if their products were illegally copied – better business
conditions and higher performances will deliberately try to evade buying
computer software licences and only do so if they get caught by us.
"We recommend that companies,
organisations and the public use licensed and legitimate computer software.
Sell or give away what really belongs to you; stay away from illicit software
and unauthorised software installation. If you ignore this, sooner or later, we
will find out and hold you accountable before the law," Phuc said.
At Asia Development and Architecture
Technology Consulting Joint-stock Company in Ha Noi, the taskforce checked 21
computers and found a great number of illegally copied software, including
Autodesk 3D MAX, AutoCAD, LacViet MTD 2002, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop CS,
Windows XP and MS Office.
Facing the evidence, representatives of Zoom
and Asia Development and Architecture Technology Consulting signed an inspection
note admitting the use of computer software without the rightful owners'
authority was a violation of intellectual property laws.
Both companies promised to uninstall the
illegal software and contact the publishers to buy licensed copies.
In a recent workshop on software ownership in
HCM City, Vu Manh Chu, head of the Viet Nam Copyright Office, said, "Use
of illegal software by corporate users may be subject to criminal charges and
rigorous legal acts.
"In addition, copyright owners are also
given access to other punitive measures applicable to those in breach of their
intellectual property rights, including judicial proceedings at relevant courts
of law as stated in Article 198.1d of the Intellectual Property Act; and/or
request the court to demand violators to end their infringements, make an
official apology and initiate remedial measures; or require redress from
violators, including compensation for material losses and payment of proceeding
fees as specified in Articles 202, 204 and 205 of the Intellectual Property
Act," Chu said.
"The degree of the damage caused is
determined based on the actual losses incurred by the owner of the intellectual
property as a result of the infringement."
Intellectual property rights – software
ownership in particular – are protected by Vietnamese law. Violating businesses
not only face severe punishment, including financial setback, but also heavy
damage to their reputation.
Vu Ba Chu, deputy director of the Department
of Competition Management, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said in a workshop:
"Companies must consider the use of licensed software as part of their
social responsibility and ethical conduct. This will not only benefit them in
the end but also build a trustworthy image for their products."
Vietnam News
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