Singapore Targeted For New Anti-Piracy Educational Campaign

Four-Part Plan Geared To Educate The Public

March 6, 1995 (Washington, DC)--The Software Publishers Association (SPA)
launched today a series of educational anti-piracy promotions in
Singapore. As part of its continuing effort to combat the high level of
software piracy in Asia, the SPA announced a four-part program geared to
educate Singaporeans about the significant problems associated with
software piracy and how to become "software legal." The program will be
the first of its kind in Asia. Singapore was chosen as the centerpiece of
SPA's Asian anti-piracy activities due to its tough copyright laws and
strong enforcement, which has resulted in the lowest software piracy rate
in Asia.

Singapore Ad Campaign

At the core of the SPA's educational campaign is a new print advertisement
designed to offer help to PC software users in Singapore that unauthorized
copying of software is illegal.

"The goal of the ad campaign is to raise the public's awareness of software
piracy in Singapore through education, with enforcement only as a last
resort, and to build, upon Singapore's excellent record of reducing
piracy. The SPA will provide the necessary tools for Singapore companies
to become software legal," said Sandra Sellers, Director of Litigation for
the SPA. "Hopefully, the ad will challenge companies to operate within
Singapore's intellectual property rights laws and to utilize the tools the
SPA is providing them."

"Although the Singapore Government has taken significant steps to protect
intellectual property rights, the US software industry still suffers
greatly from piracy in Singapore," said Ken Wasch, Executive Director of
the SPA. "Singapore contributes $7 million in losses to an estimated $8.1
billion software piracy problem worldwide. While Singapore has the lowest
piracy rate in Asia, business owners and employees need to be educated on
structuring their software management systems to ensure protection against
copyright violations. The SPA is here to offer help in meeting those
objectives."

SPA Helpline

The SPA will also operate an Anti-Piracy Helpline in Singapore for persons
who need information on legal software use. Through this service, various
educational brochures, SPAudit, and videotapes can be obtained. The
helpline will also be available to report specific cases of software
piracy within the workplace or retail outlet stores. The helpline number
in Singapore is 800-337-6400.

SPAudit and KeyAudit

The SPA will distribute complimentary copies of the SPAudit for DOS and the
KeyAudit for Macintosh. These self-audit programs are designed for
internal audits of standalone and networked PCs, which should assist
employers in finding functional alternatives to software piracy. "SPAudit"
has been one of the most widely distributed tools used in decreasing
software piracy within the US.

Future Certified Software Manager Course

In addition, the SPA is announcing that it will team up with the Singapore
Computer Society to administer a Certified Software Manager course, which
should be available in Fall 1995. This extensive class stresses the
fundamental issues of software licensing and compliance, and also teaches
the skills necessary to optimize the legal use of software. Since
organizations invest in software to increase productivity, lower costs,
and gain a competitive edge, the SPA Certified Software Manager can ensure
the organization reaches these goals, and avoid the penalties that can
result from mismanaging software.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. The SPA's anti-piracy hotline in the US,
1-800-388-7478, accepts calls reporting software copyright violations,
including information on pirate bulletin boards. The hotline receives more
than 100 calls per week about all forms of piracy. Its 1,150 members
represent the leading publishers in the business, consumer, and education
markets. The SPA has offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France. SPA
press releases are available through CompuServe. (GO:SPAForum).

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756

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