| RP News Central |
| Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team Launched To Combat Software Piracy [07-September-05] |
Manila, Philippines � The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Optical Media Board and the Philippine National Police (PNP), together with the Intellectual Property Coalition, have banded together to launch the �Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team,� a campaign that aims to curb software piracy in the Philippines. The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the foremost organization promoting the use of original and licensed software, is supporting the campaign.
At the launch, the five organizations signed a memorandum of understanding that spelled out the objectives and action plans of the campaign.
OMB Chairman Eduardo Manzano said that this joint undertaking is part of the government�s efforts in getting rid of piracy in the country. �This is an all-out campaign against software piracy. We want to show that the government is determined to make the country piracy-free so that foreign investors will see the Philippines as an attractive destination for their business, without any fear that their products will be pirated,� said Manzano.
�Software piracy has continued to be a big threat to the growth of the local Information and Communications sector. It has also been causing billions of lost revenue to our economy. We hope that through this effort, there will be a significant reduction in the Philippines� software piracy rate and increase in awareness and respect for intellectual property rights so that our economy can move forward faster. Lost revenues in taxes due to piracy could have been used to fund basic services such as education, health and infrastructure,� Manzano added.
The Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team started with a 30-day countdown that began on August 16 and will end on September 15. It will be followed by a crackdown phase in which a series of raids against software copyright violators will be conducted nationwide. Companies are expected to correct license misuse before the crackdown begins.
NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco called on companies to make sure they are only using licensed software. He said: �The NBI is pleased to work with the OMB and the PNP for this campaign. We hope that businesses will heed our call. Legalize your unlicensed software now before the crackdown begins. Do not put your company at risk by using unlicensed software.�
PNP Police Director General Arturo Lomibao echoed Dir. Wycoco�s call and also called on distributors and computer resellers to stop selling pirated software. �We are one with the NBI and OMB in going after software pirates. Piracy is stealing and against the law. Dishonest vendors who are caught selling pirated software not only face risk of paying hefty fines but also imprisonment,� Lomibao said.
Speaking on behalf of the private sector, IP Coalition Chairman John Lesaca said: �Both the Government and legitimate businesses continue to be adversely affected by piracy, particularly in terms of lost income and tax revenues. This collaboration can count on the full support of the private sector. We hope this new initiative will further strengthen efforts to respect intellectual property rights in software as well as the other industries.�
A recent study conducted by the IDC for BSA placed the Philippines� software piracy rate at 71% with losses amounting to P3.7 billion in 2004. Software piracy exists in many forms including corporate end-user piracy, hard disk loading, retail CD-ROM piracy and Internet piracy. The most noticeable among these is the sale of counterfeit CD-ROMs in retail outlets. However, software piracy has remained rampant amongst corporate end-users - this occurs when businesses utilize more copies of software than it has licenses for.
Jeffrey Hardee, BSA Vice President and Regional Director for Asia, said that among the types of software piracy, corporate end-user piracy is the most damaging to the BSA. �A lot of businesses continue to use software without proper licenses. The BSA has been conducting seminars on Software Asset Management (SAM) to help companies realize the value of their IT investment. The adoption of a model SAM practice also minimizes software license misuse,� added Hardee.
The BSA lauded the government for taking the lead in going after violators of software copyright. �We are proud to support this government-driven campaign against the use of pirated and unlicensed software. We laud the agencies leading this initiative for recognizing the need to reduce, and consequently eliminate piracy,� said Hardee.
Manzano, on behalf of the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team, acknowledged the support of the BSA in their campaign. �The support of BSA is very much appreciated and also serves as an example of the government and the private sector working together to fight piracy and help improve the country�s economy,� said Manzano.
Individuals who wish to report software piracy cases may get in touch with the BSA through its anti-piracy hotlines at 819-5897 for Metro Manila residents and the toll-free 1-800-1-888-8787 for those residing outside Metro Manila. BSA gives a reward of up to P1 million for reports on companies using unlicensed software.
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 worldwide members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, CNC Software/Mastercam, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, McAfee, Microsoft, PTC, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, The MathWorks, UGS and VERITASSoftware. BSA regional members in Asia include Minitab and Trend Micro. In the Philippines, the BSA maintains a Memorandum of Understanding with the Philippine Software Industry Association, Philippine Internet Services Organization, the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Association of Government Internal Auditors.
About IP Coalition
The IP Coalition is composed of industry associations organized to promote intellectual property rights. IP Coalition members include Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino Foundation (AMP), Association of Videogram Distributors of the Philippines (AVIDPHIL), Brand Protection Association, Business Software Alliance (BSA), Council to Combat Counterfeiting and Piracy of Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks (COMPACT), Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP), KATHA, Motion Picture Association (MPA), Motion Picture Distributors Association of the Philippines (MPDAP), Philippine Association of the Recording Industry, Inc. (PARI), Philippine Entertainment Industry Foundation, Inc., Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), and Quezon City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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| PunkBuster GUID will be required in the future to get your stats tracked! [20-June-05] |
Written by [GA]Riddler1942, 19.05.2005 at 19:32.
Hello Soldiers!
Some of you already got an e-mail or saw that in the forums, but here again a official news about it:
Starting 1st June it will be required for tracker-users to add their PunkBuster GUID into their tracker profile. Currently we only require your AA Game Username but in 2-3 weeks it will also be required to add your PunkBuster GUID to your tracker profile. Without a valid PB GUID your stats will not get tracked anymore! This will help us to identify players on gameservers with something more solid than their playing name. It will also help us to identify and ban cheaters from our website to keep our database and toplists clean for the real soldiers which are playing fair without any cheats or hacks. Every user that gets permanently banned by PunkBuster will also get banned on our tracker-website. Currently cheaters can simply create a new Game Account, change their tracker-username and continue cheating. Those times will be over then. If someone get caught by PunkBuster for cheating, he will definitly loose his tracker account!
To add the PunkBuster GUID into your tracker-profile, click on the User-CP Button at the top and then on the Tracker Control Panel Button. Under your Tracker-Username you should see a field to enter your PunkBuster GUID and also a link to a FAQ where it's explained how to find out your PB GUID. Add your PunkBuster GUID there and you are done and can go playing again! The PunkBuster GUIDs will get stored in our database but currently we see no reason to make them public! They will just be visible for teammembers if we have to ban some cheaters ^^
I also should say that adding invalid PB GUIDs or PB GUIDs of other players will cause a temporary ban of your tracker account! It will not help a cheater to add the PB GUID of a fair player or an invalid GUID Number. We will see it and have to ban your account for this, too.
But as a fair player who never cheats you have nothing to loose. Simply add the PB GUID to your tracker-settings and everything will be fine! Nothing to care about
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| RP MINI-TRACKER [31-May-05] |
RP MEMBER's MINI-TRACKER ADDED
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| SITE UPDATE [30-May-05] |
RECONSTRUCTING RP SITE
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