Piracy set to overtake human trafficking!

NEW DELHI, INDIA: As the software fraternity is yet to formulate a mechanism to combat piracy, digital and online piracy thrive worldwide.

With more than 555 million Websites in the world today, accessing the digital content is becoming a risky business. The autodidactic pirates even use encryption technologies to evade identity.

Also read: Why digital piracy thrives in India

Senior attorney, BSA India Committee chair and director- IPR at Microsoft India, Keshav Dhakad believes that there are more than 50,000 websites which offer pirated software. But to track and allow enforcement activity against them is a challenge.

"Piracy is set to overtake organized crime. It's growing even at bigger rate than that of narcotics and human trafficking," said Dhakad at a recent FICCI event. This, he said, is a cause of concern and they are making recommendations to the Parliament.

"It’s easy to generate pirated versions while it’s difficult to catch pirates since it involves multiple jurisdictions," informed the attorney. Accessing IP content is risky, he opined.

The pirates, he said, tweak the legitimate social networks and video-sharing sites to suit their endeavors. "Social networks should have a clear anti-piracy policy and should responsibly handle their operations," Dhakad said.

In tandem with increasing business risks and challenges, the software sector is taking a series of initiatives. The industry removes more than 2 million infringing links a month from the Webpages such as Rapidshare and Hotfile.

As the enforcement has become imperative, Dhakad feels that reform in current laws are highly needed. "Pirates are sophisticated. They are using encryption technology to protect their identities," he said.