BSA – The Software Alliance has launched a major campaign across Croatia during which several thousand Croatian business entities will be contacted. The campaign is aimed at promoting the authorized use of computer programs in business.
Through this campaign, BSA aims to alert business entities about the use of unlicensed programs and the increasingly widespread misconception in the domestic public that the use of unlicensed software is more tolerated during economic crises than usual.
Despite the fact that the software piracy rate in Croatia has largely stagnated or even declined in recent years, the commercial value of unlicensed software is concerning – it has risen from 322 million kuna in 2006 to 380 million in 2011. For this reason, BSA warns all companies and organizations that such an attitude is incorrect and can lead to serious consequences for the organization and its operations. In 2011 alone, state economic inspectors identified violations at 562 entities, filed 459 indictments, and issued 103 misdemeanor orders based on which fines amounting to nearly 700,000 kuna were collected.
As part of the campaign, BSA also requests that companies forward a certified statement confirming that they exclusively use licensed computer programs in their operations, thereby respecting the intellectual property rights of software manufacturers.
– The goal of this campaign is to a large extent to stimulate domestic entities to monitor their intangible assets and to manage them as effectively as possible – said Andrej Matijević, spokesperson for BSA in Croatia.
Upon completion of the campaign, BSA will inform the public about the results, and the expectation is that raising awareness among business entities about the necessity of using licensed software will ultimately not only improve copyright protection but also contribute to the more efficient operation of the business entities themselves.
