Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(By Joe Lara)

As Intellectual Property Week is set to begin, I thought it would be appropriate to shed the light on a problem associated with the issue and Peru's government.

While the problem of product piracy is blamed on a number of reasons, no reason on earth could justify why 59% of Peruvian government entities use pirated software for their day-to-day operations.

According to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), losses of approximately US$93.3 million were attributed to Peru's piracy problems.

Despite the Peruvian government's decreasing dependency on pirated software, the IIPA says it still is one of the country's biggest violators of piracy laws.

How hypocritical is it when government officials conduct sting operations which target formal and informal vendors in places such as Polvos Azules, Polvos Rosados, Las Malvinas, El Hueco, and Mesa Redonda while Peruvian government offices use bootleg products to run their operations.

Again, as is typical in Peru, an example is always made out of the 'little guy.'

While I agree some type of action needs to be done to deter vendors and producers who supply illegal and pirated products, a much stronger message could be sent by cleaning up the government's own house.