NAIROBI_KE,
WED April 6, 2016 - The
Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) has today announced a month-long amnesty for
individuals, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and corporations using
non-genuine software, to allow them a chance to purchase or subscribe to
genuine/licensed software ahead of a planned crackdown.
Making the announcement, Kenya Copyright
Board Acting Executive Director Edward Sigei said the amnesty is a proactive
effort by the Board to ensure compliance in the use of genuine software to
mitigate associated loses and risks. Mr. Sigei says software piracy rates
remain high in Kenya, at a staggering 78%, according to the most recent study -
BSA Global Software Survey of 2014.
According to the Survey, 43 percent of
the software installed on PCs around the world, with a commercial value of $62.7
billion (or KES 6.2 trillion), is not properly licensed. In Kenya, the
commercial value of pirated software stands at KES 12.8 billion.
“Software piracy is increasingly stifling
economic growth in Kenya today. The rampant use of non-genuine software is denying
the country an opportunity to derive gains from licensed software, which has
shown greater return on investment elsewhere in the world,” said Mr. Sigei.
The survey notes that increasing the
amount of properly licensed software use globally by 1 percent would add an
estimated $73 billion (an equivalent of KES 7.3 trillion) into the world
economy, compared to 2 trillion from pirated software. This provides a $53 billion
(KES 5.3 trillion) advantage associated with using licensed software.
Similarly, the survey finds that the
greatest potential for economic gains are in emerging markets where piracy is
most common today. In the report, emerging markets account for 56% of all PCs
in use globally and nearly three-quarter (73%) of all unlicensed software
installations.
Mr. Sigei notes that SMEs, state
corporations and other business organizations in Kenya continue to lose
millions of shillings each year by using outdated or non-genuine software even
as newer and more efficient versions are introduced into the market.
Speaking at the event, Microsoft’s
Country Manager for Kenya Mr. Kunle Awosika said that using licensed software
provides firms with an opportunity to reduce costs and improve productivity.
Mr. Awosika said: “Licensed software
presents value added services that not only improve operational efficiency for a
businesses, but also improves productivity, which in turn fuels economic growth
of the country.”
According to Awosika, using non-genuine
software exposes enterprises to enormous risks including lawsuits, security
threats and the reputational peril associated with a lawsuit or security
breach/failure.
“Many people do not know that when using
pirated software, one has 74% chance of falling victim to cybercrime,” Awosika
explained.
During the one-month
Amnesty, Microsoft has undertaken to drive consumer awareness campaigns around the
purchase and use of genuine software through activities that will seek to
empower users to acquire and use genuine software.
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