Software Piracy Rates Increasing in Ukraine

According to the data recently presented by the analytical company IDC, the rate of unlicensed software use in Ukraine increased by 1 percent last year, reaching the 85 percent mark, while the piracy losses reached USD 272,000,000 (EUR 220,000,000) in 2009.

As the increasing software piracy rates have adverse effects on the technological and economical development of the country and its investment attractiveness, the government has made promises to the international community to actively combat piracy and severely punish the companies offering unlicensed products to their clients.

The deputy chief of the state department for fighting economic crime stated that during the first four months of 2010, Ukrainian law enforcement authorities discovered 107 cases of copyright infringement of Microsoft’s products and that as a result Microsoft initiated 76 proceedings in Ukrainian courts.

The deputy chairman of the Ministry of Education’s intellectual property department said that a special Coordination Board has been created, consisting of state authorities and rights holders, in order to combat the proliferation of unlicensed products in Ukraine.

The Board has outlined several priorities for the 2010-2012 period, which are:

• Decreasing the level of software piracy by 5 percent

• Making sure that state authorities use legal software

• Adopting additional legislation against the producers of pirated products

• Organizing additional training for law enforcement officials and judges

• Reducing the movement of pirated goods by tightening border control

For more information, please contact Elena Zubenko at our Belgium office.

Source: Unian.net