Power up EU, urges Fast

Software industry calls for crack down on pirates

The software industry is calling for greater powers from the European Union to crack down on pirates and counterfeiters.

Piracy is a serious problem in the channel, with more than 1,000 resellers facing legal action from Microsoft alone. In many cases the quality of pirated software is so high that it is difficult to tell genuine and counterfeit apart.

Anti-piracy groups are concerned that delays in the introduction of a European Union enforcement directive is hindering the fight against counterfeiting rings.

The Federation Against Software Theft (Fast) said it is often too difficult and costly to prosecute offenders under current legislation. "We need something more streamlined and a simplification of the process to protect the rights of software publishers," said Paul Brennan, general counsel at Fast.

The proposed EU directive, which was announced in 2000, has still not been published but is likely to include remedies for searching premises, closing down illegal operations and confiscating assets. It should not directly affect business users of software.

Brennan also called for changes to UK law such as a statutory offence of defrauding, which would make it easier to prosecute than breach of copyright or conspiracy to defraud.