Over 90% software is pirated - MUK don

Oct 04, 2009

ABOUT 90% of the software used in Uganda is pirated, a senior official at the Makerere University Faculty of Technology has said.

By Paul Tentena

ABOUT 90% of the software used in Uganda is pirated, a senior official at the Makerere University Faculty of Technology has said.

Eng. Peter Okidi urged that because Microsoft had been gradually increasing the price of its software products, loopholes had been created for pirates to make cheap products.

“At the beginning, all Microsoft products were free.

“Now one has to pay huge sums,” noted Okidi at the second information and communications technology (ICT) stakeholders meeting in Kampala last week.

He advised ICT graduates in Uganda to start developing their own software rather than relying on pirated ones.
Recently, the multinational computer technology corporation, Microsoft, embarked on an educational and awareness campaign to fight counterfeiters and pirates of their products in Uganda and the world over.
Microsoft develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices.

Andrew Waititu, the Microsoft regional anti- piracy manager, told the media at a workshop in Kampala last month that most pirated Microsoft products were originating from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and some European countries.

He said the firm loses between $11b to $15b to counterfeiters and pirates worldwide every year.

Microsoft has its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, USA. Its most profitable products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software.

“The burden of counterfeits is not only in money loss, it also goes beyond the fact that people name Microsoft products not being effective and total data loss,” Waititu explained.

James Wasula of the Uganda Performing Rights Society (UPRS) at the same workshop said Uganda losses around shs2.8bn every month to counterfeiters, pirates and infringers.

He said according to a survey they conducted, it was noted that most counterfeiters were in Kampala, Mbarara, Mbale, Mityana and Mukono.

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