The Kenya Copyright Board is looking to increase its efforts to fight against software piracy in the country. It said that it would battle piracy with vigor in the coming period in order to increase investment potential and crackdown on illegal use of software. According to the board, in a press statement late on Thursday, there will be an “intensive” campaign against piracy “through a series of sustained raids on suspected resellers of counterfeit software.” But analysts and shopkeepers worry that the plan will become a with hunt in favor of larger international corporations looking to take up shop in the country. One shopkeeper said that his only source of software for customers was pirated because “we simply cannot afford to pay full price and the buyers that come in are not in a position to give that kind of money.” The Board said that its enforcement will aim to reduce ICT sector's losses, which they say is losing thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars as a result of the piracy. It comes as police and inspectors recently raided a number of computer shops in Nairobi, allegedly arresting who the Board said was a mastermind behind software piracy in the city. Executive Director of the Board Marisella Ouma said that the raids are a “sign the Board has resolved to deal firmly with those infringing and engaging in software piracy.” Ouma added that retailers must abide by the law when selling products. “The Board remains ready and willing to support software copyright owners by intensifying enforcement efforts to reduce software piracy in our country and ensure that legitimate businesses reap the fruits of their labor as per the Kenya Copyright Board mandate,” Ouma continued. Microsoft was quick to praise the efforts, saying that piracy harms its customers and the partnerships it has developed in the country. “Software piracy is a serious problem that has a huge impact on people in Kenya,” said Anti-Piracy Manager for Microsoft in West, East and Central Africa Lawrence Kinyanjui. ”Unsuspecting consumers are at risk of downloading or purchasing counterfeit software that can expose victims to spyware, malware and viruses that can lead to identify theft, loss of data and system failures,” he added. BM
