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singapore & vietnam
PROJECT
Content
In conclusion, we have found that there are little differences between the average Singaporean and the average Vietnamese in their attitudes towards software piracy, as indicated in our survey conducted on Singaporean undergraduates and Vietnamese undergraduates in the National University of Singapore. Though the sample is too small to be really conclusive, we feel that the statistics obtained are good indicators of the perceptions of the common people with regards to software piracy and their general attitudes.
From our findings, it seems that the average person is not overly concern with the legal and/or ethnical issues involved in using pirated software. Prior knowledge of the consequences of owning/using pirated software does not seem to deter them from doing so. People, irregardless of nationalities, are very pragmatic. Thus, although the respective authorities have taken further measures to combat software piracy, the general impressions towards their actions is rather pessimistic. This account for the prevalence of piracy and the general acceptance of the phenomenon, as shown in the current piracy trends of Singapore and Vietnam.
Though there are many factors that contributed led to software piracy, the perceived primary factor is the price of the original software products. This point is evident throughout the survey and the other materials we used in the study. The price of the original software product in relation to the average income of the individual is a crucial factor. The countries with the highest piracy prevalence rate are also nations with relatively low per capita annual income. In our study, Vietnam has a much lower per capita annual income than Singapore. This fact also manifest itself in the suggestions given by the survey respondents, as no Singaporean mention the need to reduce the retail price of the original software whereas this is oft mentioned by Vietnamese.
Thus, from all these findings, we feel that the crux of the software piracy problem lies with the retail price of the software. Foreign software producers seem to forget to consider the income disparity between their own countries and that of the countries where their software are sold. If it is possible for them to slash the price of the original, more people might willingly turn to the original products, as they are more reliable than pirated ones. This is shown in our survey where those who shunned pirated software did so because of the unreliability of the pirated software.
Since it is identified that the primary causes is the price of the original, the plan the Vietnamese government plan to implement might also work. The economic logic of using open-source software is simple, yet proves to be “irresistible”. For the majority of the people who complain about being unable to afford the original products, open-source software will be a welcome change to them since cost is not longer a problem.
Therefore, we feel that although better defined copyright laws and enforcement are good in keeping software piracy under control, these do not actually solved the problem completely. Only by tackling the underlying causes of piracy would the piracy problem be eradicated. Reduction of the retail price and especially advocating open-source, seem to be the better solutions in the long run.
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