Software piracy in Asia II

IN PART ONE of this expose of software piracy in South East Asia, we looked at the overall cost of counterfeit ware and at the particular situation in mainland China and in Hong Kong.

Now we move to other countries and show that the situation is just as bad elsewhere in the geography.

Bangkok
After Hong Kong, one of the most popular shopping destinations for stop-over tourists is Bangkok in Thailand. Once again the choice of luxury consumer goods on offer at markets such as Pat Pong in downtown Bangkok is amazing. Pat Pong is also the centre of the red light district and so the passing visitor has to be careful about what it is exactly that they are being offered and buying. The usual array of fake Paul Smith T-shirts, Ralph Lauren tops, and Levi jeans jostle for space in this crowded marketplace with stands chocker full of music CDs, leather Prada purses and Rolex watches.

For pirated software, the hippy travellers' hangout of Khao San Road has become the place to come. As well as nibbling on Satay sticks and drinking cold bottles of the local Singha beer the passing tourist can choose from one of at least twenty stalls which pitch up along the bustling street in the evening selling pirated software. As well as catering for the younger market with every game the average gap student would want, the stalls also offer the now usual vast array of grown up software, including of course the Windows XP package.

Each software disc costs around 180 Baht (£3) and a music CD around 120 Baht (£2), but the price can vary depending on your bargaining skills. While we were there we met with a traveller who was about to return home to England. His rucksack contained 60 pirated discs and his girlfriend was carrying a further 50. They were a mix of music CDs, DVDs and computer software. He ended up paying an average of 50 Baht (£0.80) for each disc.

There is no way to verify at the time whether the software works or whether you have just paid £3 for an attractive drinks coaster, but that is the risk you take. A rough estimate puts the success rate at eight in ten of the disks working.

The vendors are becoming more alert to 'raids' by the authorities, as the new government in Bangkok has vowed to crack down on both prostitution and counterfeiting in the city. Only the sleeve of the pirated software is on view on the street stall.

Once you have made your choice and completed the obligatory two minute negotiation for the goods, the vendor pulls out his mobile phone and calls a 'friend' who arrives ten minutes later with your purchase. Although the stall holders are more careful there is very little evidence that the authorities are very serious about stamping out the trade.

Cambodia
Of all the Tiger economies, Cambodia does not currently rank too highly on the list of success stories. It has been ravaged by war with France, Vietnam and of course, the evil Pol Pot regime, who have worryingly, entered into the next series of elections in 2002.

As the country opens up to tourism it is embracing the economic opportunities that this brings. As well as selling numerous Khmer style object d'art, which adorn many a tourists mantelpiece after a visit, counterfeit goods are also very visible here.

The visitor can buy music CDs, DVDs and the usual plethora of pirated software - Oracle, SQL, Visual Basic and more, in a country where the average man on the street will not have any of the necessary equipment to use them, or the dollars to buy them.

Phnom Penh, the capital city, is the centre of the counterfeit industry in this country. Most visitors head on the back of a moto-taxi to what is mysteriously called the "Russian market".

This vast covered market contains no Russians, but rather the usual assortment of local goods such as fresh tropical fruits and meats of all descriptions (and some bits of meat which are difficult to describe and appear to belong to no known animal — it later turned out to be barbequed frog!) as well as motorbike spares to repair any of the thousands of mopeds on the roads.

COUNTERFEIT SOFTWARE IN CAMBODIA

One massive corner of the market is dedicated to counterfeit CDs, DVDs and computer software. The choice here is as varied as you would find in any of the other markets mentioned, although on the stands selling music CDs, the stall holders hadn't yet heard of Robbie Williams, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

As in Bangkok, there are two qualities of fake software on offer in Cambodia. For $2 you get the lower quality Chinese produced version and for $3 you can buy the better quality Singapore version. The only differences we could tell between the two versions is in the quality of the packaging - it seems you run the same risk of it not working regardless of where it has been produced. Of the CDs we purchased, only one of each type failed to load.

In Part III, we conclude our tour of Asia and also summarise the future of counterfeiting and the fight against the pirates. We also ask whether the standard of living in these countries is such that software is too much of a luxury item for the locals to afford paying top whack for.