~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Vietnam crackdowns on Microsoft pirates

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have launched a major crackdown against two computer companies selling pirated copies of Microsoft programs, an official said Tuesday. Government inspectors and police raided Phong Vu and Hoan Long computer companies on Thursday and Friday, seizing 40 CD-ROMs containing pirated Microsoft programs, said Phan An Sa, chief inspector at the Ministry of Culture and Information.

Sa said the inspectors also deleted Microsoft programs installed in 30 computers waiting to be sold. Each company was fined 25 million dong (US$1,590; €1,223) for their copyright violations, he said. "This is a good start," Sa said, adding it was the first time ministry inspectors were involved in a software raid. "We will continue to intensify our crackdown against piracy." The crackdown came after Vietnam joined the Berne Convention for copyright protection in late October.

An estimated 97 percent of software on Vietnam's market is pirated, one of the highest rates in the world, according to industry trade group Business Software Alliance.

The Associated Press - November 23, 2004