Keeping pirates off the Net

Looking at the number of people going online each year, the Internet has turned into a serious business medium, as the 25 000 people with dial-up Internet access in 1994 turned into an overall market of more than 3 million users in 2004.

"With the rapid growth and uptake of this medium locally, protection of intellectual property on the Internet has become an increasingly urgent issue," says Andy Higgins, managing director at bidorbuy.

"Due to the difficulty controlling this aspect, more dealers of pirated or illicit goods will switch to the Internet to promote and sell their goods.

"Piracy is nothing less than serious theft. It is a crime that impacts right across our society, from government to the retail sector and right down to the individual customer, who, in buying pirated goods, end up with inferior products. The only winners are the criminals - something that needs to be stopped immediately."

bidorbuy has acknowledged combating piracy as a top priority. Although the company is not expert in identifying pirated goods, it is working closely with industry bodies and authorities to ensure the problem of pirated goods on the www.bidorbuy.co.za site is combated effectively.

Such bodies include the South African Police Services (SAPS), the Southern African Federation against Copyright Theft (SAFACT), the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).

SAFACT, a trade association representing the entertainment industry, recently entered into an agreement with bidorbuy in the fight against the sale of pirated DVD movies and games online.

"When considering the fact that the film industry loses approximately R200 million per annum through piracy, the agreement with bidorbuy is an important step forward in our continuous fight against this crime," says Fred Potgieter, general manager at SAFACT.

The issue of software piracy and the resale of counterfeit goods have far-reaching implications - not only for the manufacturers of the products but for the economies of the countries in which the practice proliferates. IDC, the international research house, released the results of its software piracy study earlier this year after surveying 87 countries worldwide.

"South Africa's piracy rate stands at 37% - up one percent from last year and close to the global average of 35%. The general African average is a staggering 80%, with countries such as Zimbabwe topping 90 percent. This translates into Africa's economy suffering to the tune of US$1 billion per year. Globally, piracy costs approximately US$33 billion," explains Stephan Le Roux, chairman of the BSA in South Africa.