Associations launch software certification campaign

EAN-Chile, the e-commerce center of the country's National Chamber of Commerce (CNC), and the Chilean software distributors' association (ADS) are teaming up to launch a public education program on the wrongs of using illegal software, local press reported. The program, dubbed "I play clean, I certify myself," aims to cut the local software industry's losses to pirated wares. According to the ADS, local developers and distributors lose US$200mn a year to piracy while the government loses upward to US$50mn annually in tax money. Moreover, about half of all software in Chile is pirated, according to the organizations. The program will certify the authenticity of the software of any company that requests certification, regardless of its size. "The objective is to make public the figures of the entities that comply with the law," said EAN-Chile CEO Alejandro Prieto. Similar campaigns are already under way in Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.