(UPDATE) NBI raids HCG for alleged software piracy
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:12:00 09/08/2008
Filed Under: Technology (general), Software
MANILA, Philippines -- The National Bureau of Investigation Intellectual Property Rights Division (NBI-IPRD) conducted simultaneous raids in two offices of ceramics products maker HCG which is allegedly using unlicensed software.
Two teams from the NBI-IPRD went to the HCG manufacturing plant in Cavite and the company's showroom in Makati City. The NBI raid came following a complaint filed with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) office in the Philippines.
Lawyer Jan Abigail Ponce-Roxas, legal counsel of the BSA, said they received a complaint that the HCG Makati and Cavite offices were allegedly using unlicensed copies of Microsoft, Adobe, and Autodesk applications.
Forty-five computers at the HCG Makati City office and 98 in the Cavite office were found to have pirated applications and were seized by government authorities, BSA said.
Roxas said they have considered sending a warning to HCG but decided to go for a raid due to the size of the two facilities. Normally, a warning letter is sent to smaller companies about the use of pirated software to give them time to convert to original applications.
In a separate interview, NBI-IPRD Executive Officer Norman Decampong said they conducted two months of surveillance on the company, after which they obtained a search warrant for the two facilities.
Decampong said there were about 40 computers in HCG Makati and another 60 to 80 computers at the Cavite office.
Decampong said that the raid should serve as a warning to other businesses using pirated applications, particularly large companies.
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