Piracy is not an issue, say hi-tech companies

In recent times there has been a lot of speculation and worry about the

menace of pirated software. But it is one aspect that technology-oriented

companies are not bothered about. Being at the cutting edge of technology, these

companies are always running ahead in the race for technology. Therefore piracy

for them becomes meaningless. Says, Suresh Rajpal, President and CEO, Trigyn

Group, "We have not thought of patenting our products since our technology

is at the cutting-edge. We believe our research is far ahead of our competitors.

And it will not make sense for them to copy us. By the time they discover what

our technology was about, we shall be years ahead of them."

Trigyn Technologies is working in the area of mobile commerce, billing, CRM,

network infrastructure management for cell companies, e-commerce and

telecommunications. Ditto is the case with for Parsec Technologies which is

working on integrated call centers. Says JP Dutta, COO India operations,

"Yes, we have filed for patents for a couple of our products but it really

does not matter because we are far ahead in terms of technology. To reach the

level of our technology standards, a lot of R&D has to go in by which time,

the efforts at piracy will be futile."

But not everyone is convinced about this stand. With India fast becoming a

powerhouse in software development, many are concerned about the protection of

their intellectual property. Says Dewang Mehta, President Nasscom,

"Government should start patenting software products or Indian companies in

software product development will lose out."

Currently, software products are treated as literary works and are eligible

for protection under the Copyright Act. But copyright does not ensure protection

to the functionality of the product which is the selling point in most software

products. Says Mehta, "Functions are nothing but creative ideas. And once

the functionality is known, it is easy to recreate the product." Therefore,

the demand from the industry is that the government must provide for strong IPRs

which focus on protecting the functionality of the product. Applying for patents

in the US is not only expensive but also a long-drawn affair, which could be

potentially damaging in an era when technology changes so often.