TIPS^®  Taiwan Intellectual Property Special

Fair Price of Computer CDs and Software Should Be Decided by the Market

With respect to the concerns of software prices arising from the “antipiracy campaign” and the “anti-antipiracy protest,” the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) invited several government and non-government organizations to discuss the problem of unfair pricing and tying and seek for balance between the users and right owners.

The participants all agreed that the rights and interests of copyright owners should be protected and respected; however, in the mean time, the public interest should not be overlooked. The discussion reached the following conclusions:

1. Removal of penalties for non-commercial copyright infringement and the scope of public prosecution should be considered prudently;

2. The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) of the MOEA will open a forum on the TIPO’s web site for the users and right owners to express opinions with respect to intellectual property issues;

3. The Industrial Development Bureau and the Department of Industrial Technology of the MOEA should devote to the development of Software, in order to provide more alternatives;

4. The Consumer Protection Commission may conduct a survey among the general users about the reasonable prices for CDs and Software;

5. The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration plans on assisting manufacturers in co-purchase and co-license

The users are expected to aggressively seek opportunity in negotiation for an acceptable and reasonable price; on the other hand, the right owners should provide different prices for different types of users, such as students, families, enterprises, and etc. The MOEA emphasized that price should not be decided by either the right owners or the end-users; it should be determined by the market mechanism.