What is the law

Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1992 (The Amendment Act) is now extended to cover computer software. It is illegal to make or distribute copies of computer programs without authorization. No other copies may be made without specific authorization
from the copyright owner.

What are the penalties?

Pakistan's copyright law prohibits reproduction of software without permission from the owner of the copyrighted computer program. If caught with pirated software, you or your company may be prosecuted under the provisions of the Copyright Laws. The penalties under the law include a fine of up to Rs.200,000, seizure of products used for illegal copying, and a prison sentence of up to three years.

Your responsibilities as a user

Your first responsibility as a software user is to purchase original programs for your use, every computer at your place of business must have its own set of original software and accompanying documentation. It is illegal to purchase a single copy of
original software to load onto more than one computer, or to lend, copy or distribute software for any reason without the prior consent of the software manufacturer. When purchasing software, make sure you buy legitimate products. Many
counterfeit packaged products are designed to look similar to the original manufacturer's products but are of inferior quality. Purchasers and users of counterfeit or copied software face unnecessary risks: viruses, corrupt disks, or otherwise defective software (or illegally copied).

Inadequate documentation

Lack of technical product support available to registered users.
Lack of software upgrades offered to registered users.

In addition, if you purchase software that is counterfeit or copied, you not only deny the software developer its rightful revenue, you harm the industry as a whole. All software developers, both big and small, Pakistani or foreign spend literally
years developing software for public use. A portion of every rupee spent in purchasing original software is funneled back into research and development so that better and more advanced software may be produced. When you purchase counterfeit
software, your money goes directly into the pockets of software pirates.


Government commitment to law enforcement

The Pakistan Government will protect the rights of copyright owners. Surprise raids will be conducted and deterrent penalties will be imposed. These raids against software pirates will continue to encourage the purchase of original software.