Azerbaijani companies pen document to protect IP rights

By AzerNews

Azerbaijan's BestCompGroup, Bestel and Bakinity ?ompanies signed the Declaration on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, Microsoft Azerbaijan Company reported.

According to the declaration, the companies are committed to providing customers and clients with exclusively licensed software. The spread of counterfeit software is unlawful and a violation of the intellectual property rights of the holder companies.

Head of the Microsoft Azerbaijan Rufat Hajialibekov said that preventing the spread of pirated products is one of the priorities of the Microsoft strategy.

"Due to the fact that piracy makes the economy more vulnerable, and impedes economic growth and creating new jobs, reducing piracy and the use of licensed software is not just the right choice for the users, but also an important factor in the growth of the national economy," Hajialibekov said.

According to the expert, Azerbaijani IT-companies are aware of the harm that computer pirates cause to the country, and now companies are trying to correct this situation, openly expressing their desire to develop local civilized high-tech market by refusing the spread and use of counterfeit products.

Hajialibekov said that this step will help to develop IT market and promote the level of the economy in general. It is expected that signing the declaration serve as an example for other companies that respect the copyright, and play an important role in addressing the problem of piracy.

According to the research conducted by IDC and BSA, software piracy in Azerbaijan is alarmingly high, amounting to 87 percent. A recent joint study by BSA and INSEAD, one of the leading business schools in the world, shows that the growth of the licensed software market will have a greater impact on the country's economy compared to the increase in the volume of the pirated software market. The increase of the licensed software market by 1 percent will increase the national production by $38 million.