ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Microsoft and Federal Investigation Agency on Wednesday jointly organized a training session for FIA officials to increase their awareness of copyright infringement.

The session was aimed at identification of different forms of copyright infringement, detection of counterfeit software, and investigation of software evidence to prosecute culprits in the court.

Country Manager Microsoft Pakistan, Kamal Ahmed, shed light on Microsoft’s commitment to safeguarding interests of the consumers and said, “The ability of the government and IT eco-system to create new jobs and a better quality of life through information technology is strongly affected by how they handle piracy.

“Pakistan needs to demonstrate its unwavering resolve to combat piracy on an urgent basis to improve its competitiveness in the IT industry. A legal environment that protects intellectual property rights (IPR) and takes a robust approach to software counterfeit trade is essential.”

According to a statement issued here, Microsoft and FIA had realised the need to ensure a proactive counter-strategy to protect the interests of Pakistani consumers who end up paying original price for pirated software.

In the year 2008, Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by the Business Software Alliance downgraded IT competitiveness of Pakistan to 62nd.

An alarmingly high rate of software piracy which stands at 84 per cent negatively impacted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the software industry and research and development within the economy.

Training programme, delivered by experts from Microsoft, was attended among others by representatives of all branches of FIA including crime circle wing, cyber crime wing.

Corporate Attorney, Antipiracy Microsoft, Middle East and Africa, Dale Waterman, presided the session and said, “The commitment of FIA in countering software piracy sends a very clear message to counterfeiters that Pakistani government is serious about stopping this form of criminality and are willing to protect their citizens from the harm caused by pirated as well as counterfeit software.”

He said that currently, about eight out of 10 softwares being run on PCs were pirated. This resulted in huge losses not only to legitimate businesses but also to the national exchequer in terms of lost taxes and duties. FIA had a leading role in addressing this situation and Microsoft is keen for working with FIA to support them in delivering this commitment.

Mir Zubair Mahmood, Director FIA Sindh, informed the participants of recent initiatives of FIA in countering crimes of piracy and counterfeit.

In his comments, Mir Zubair said, “In an environment which is highly prone to counterfeit or pirated software, the local software companies are unable to compete on a level playing field. This lack of opportunity prevents them from competing in the international arena and attracting the much required investments in our country.”