Computer software piracy

I write as an independent computer consultant who has been working in the field of IT for the last 40 years and who has been operating in Malta for the last 22 years.

Over the years I have been directly involved in the local IT scene and I can therefore give my own views in respect to what Mr Aly Harakeh had to say about software piracy in Malta.

When one considers that Malta is a small island, I wonder why he had to wait for the IT&T fair to go on a fact-finding tour to see what is going on.

The fair, for whom I act as consultant, has over the years developed into a major event but surely it could have been as easy for Mr Harakeh to visit all the players at their own premises rather than wait for this fair.

The organisers of the IT&T fair, as a practice, do not investigate bona fide exhibitors taking part in any fair. This does not mean that the organisers do not follow up genuine complaints as and when necessary.

Indeed, I had the opportunity of meeting Mr Harakeh personally at Microsoft's local agents in Valletta after last year's IT&T Fair and I fully agreed that piracy existed in Malta. We agreed that it was a matter of educating all the people concerned in this matter.

I was incidentally contacted because BSA, who are part of Microsoft, wanted to take the opportunity to get me to write articles about this matter. But over a whole period of one year I was never contacted by BSA, Microsoft or their local representative.

Mr Harakeh says that Malta's piracy rate is now running at 53 per cent. Is this based on visits he makes to the IT&T fair or through visits to all the local shops that include many more that are not at the fair?

Let me now quote figures that I downloaded from the Business Software Alliance site on the internet.

The piracy rates for western Europe in 2002 include the following:

France, 46 per cent; Germany 34 per cent; Greece 64 per cent; Ireland 42 per cent; Italy 45 per cent; Portugal 43 per cent; Spain 49 per cent. Eastern Europe runs at 67 per cent, Asia/Pacific at 70 per cent and in the Middle East, where Mr Harakeh operates, 52 per cent.

These are figures published on the internet by BSA itself. The figures quoted for Malta by Mr Harakeh are therefore not as bleak as he seems to imply, even though I would very much like to find out how he reached his conclusions.

We all know that Malta has a problem in this regard. We have taken gigantic steps forward in attempts to solve it and we are getting there. This is a slow process and if we get our heads together we will move closer towards achieving our objectives. Developed countries, including members of the European Union, have a rate of piracy that is increasing rather than decreasing. Our piracy rate is decreasing and that is a fact.

The problem will be controlled but unfortunately it can never be eradicated. Other countries like the US and England and, more so, the countries mentioned above still have unacceptable piracy rates. Insofar as Malta is concerned, we only ask Mr Harakeh to provide us with all the relevant facts.