The inspection of software piracy in Vietnam has been implemented for seven years. This year inspections will be tightened at small and medium enterprises, revealed the chief inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST).

Vu Xuan Thanh, MoCST Chief Inspector, noted that awareness of software copyright laws has improved remarkably in Vietnam, especially at joint-venture firms and big state-owned enterprises.

“However, software piracy happens at almost all small and medium enterprises since they think that inspectors only visit big companies. We confirm that inspection of copyright piracy has been carried out equally and comprehensively at all kinds of businesses,” Thanh commented.

The chief inspector said that on March 25, MoCST inspectors and the Police Agency Against Hi-Tech Crimes inspected a small business named Nam Ha Viet in HCM City. They found out that almost all software installed on its 50 computers are “cracked” products, including Microsoft Window XP Profesional 2002, Microsoft Office 2003, Lạc Việt MTD 2002, Adobe Photoshop CS and Adobe Acrobat Pro 7.

Inspectors asked this company to remove all pirated software within five days and to purchase legal products.