BSA Commemorates World Intellectual Property Day

"Copyright infringement threatens the promise and potential of so many young entrepreneurs, inventors and technologists," said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman. "We must continue our shared public-private efforts to deter piracy and promote intellectual property rights in every corner of the globe. Our children's ability to learn, create and innovate must be protected now and in the decades ahead."

In an effort to promote a safe and responsible digital world, BSA has developed global educational programs for elementary and higher education students that emphasize the importance of being good cyber citizens and respecting the intellectual property of copyrighted works. These programs also encourage students to use only legal software and to understand the impact of software theft.

"Play It Safe in Cyber Space," BSA's youth education program for elementary students, includes curricula available in English, French and Spanish and other free tools and resources for parents, educators and children which can be downloaded free at www.playitcybersafe.com. BSA's higher education program, "Define the Line," provides fact sheets, research and other information that emphasizes the importance of using software legally and being good cyber citizens. The free resources are available at www.definetheline.com. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, BSA's education efforts for young people include an initiative to encourage responsible Internet behavior in Ireland at www.netrespect.ie, a joint schools program with other industry groups in Italy at www.controlapirateria.org and the recently launched 'Research Awards' for German university students. In Asia, BSA launched "Right Click" campaigns in the Philippines (www.bsa.org/philippines) and Taiwan (www.bsa.org.tw) to educate computer users, especially students, on how to use the internet responsibly and safely. The "Right Click" campaign will roll out to other parts of Asia through the year.

BSA is also participating in a number of events celebrating WIPO's IP Day in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Peoples Republic of China, South Africa and Turkey.

"Software piracy directly affects consumers and the economy as a whole. An IDC study released last year showed that thirty-six percent of the software installed on computers worldwide is pirated, representing a loss of nearly $29 billion for the global economy. Today we applaud the efforts of our colleagues around the globe and join with them to protect our future ability to innovate, grow and achieve. With the help of governments worldwide, we will lead the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs into a digital world with respect for strong intellectual property rights and limitless possibilities to innovate," added Holleyman.


About BSA

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, Cadence Design Systems, Cisco Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Dell, Entrust, HP, IBM, Intel, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, McAfee, Microsoft, PTC, RSA Security, SAP, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, UGS and VERITAS Software.