PAULWELL ... Microsoft agreement almost ready

SOFTWARE giant, Microsoft, and the government of Jamaica are now finalising licencing arrangement to legitimise illegal versions of the Windows operating system and related software installed on several computers inside public sector companies.

The government's more than 6,000 computers are believed to be running Windows illegally, and the deal would legitimise its use.

"It involves the regularising of the intellectual property rights in the Microsoft software and their willingness to assist the country in the ICT drive," Technology Minister Philip Paulwell told the Observer.

Government had expected to sign the deal last September, but did not make the deadline. On Tuesday, Paulwell said the agreement was almost ready and would go before cabinet "shortly". However, the amount of money involved had not yet been determined, the minister said.

He said government was also in the process of amending the Copyright Act to address aspects of software piracy. Ironically, without the umbrella deal with Microsoft, the government would itself be in violation of the act.
"We have to lead the way by example," said Paulwell.

Windows, which operates on over 90 per cent of the world's computers, has been stepping up its drive to cut down on piracy. Microsoft told the Observer that it was not bullying the Jamaican Government into compliance, but was striking a deal with government in order to align strategictechnology partnerships.

"If (government) has a 100 per cent or a 10 per cent rate of property breach, we are not concerned about that. What we are concerned with, is how they use the software, and we want them to use the software more efficiently and provide value-added services to citizens," explained Microsoft Jamaica country manager Gregory Stewart.

Stewart, while not estimating the number of Window's software running illegally in government, said it could be significant "based on estimates from Business Software Alliance-a multinational anti-piracy organisation-which places the rate of piracy as high as 70 per cent among various private sector groupings in Jamaica".

A highly placed source in the ministry of technology yesterday said that "the amount of illegal software in government could be as high as 50 per cent".

A Business Software Alliance study estimated that worldwide losses due to software piracy totalled nearly $11 billion in 2001.

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