VietNamNet Bridge – Software piracy in Vietnam has significantly declined over the past years, heard a workshop on computer security held by Microsoft in HCMC on Tuesday.
Although software copyright infringement remains serious in Vietnam, it is gradually lessening, said Vu Ngoc Hoan, acting director general of the Copyright Office of Vietnam.
Last year, the rate of software piracy in Vietnam was 80%, down two percentage points against 2011. Over the past seven years, this rate has dropped from 92% to 80%, which Hoan described as an encouraging sign.
“Vietnam has made great efforts to protect copyrights and has taken some steps forward, but it must be admitted that such steps are still small, below expectations of the Government and software producers about promotion of copyright protection,” he said.
According to the Copyright Office of Vietnam, software copyrights are highly respected by government agencies, as the State has signed many agreements on buying copyrights from software firms.
Software copyright infringement is mainly committed by end-users and companies, particularly computer trading firms. For using pirated software, most Vietnamese consumers are facing a high risk from virus and hacker attacks.
In the coming years, Vietnam will strive to bring down the software piracy rate to 55%, the average rate of Southeast Asia.
Source: SGT