Free and Open Source Software as a Remedy against Proprietary Software Piracy

It might sound paradoxical, since FOSS that is mainly accepted as an alternative to the proprietary software is introduced here as a tool to reduce the software piracy. But if consider who really loose from the software piracy, consumer or owner of the software or both and than approach this issue from the consumer's standpoint, FOSS has a potential to meet this challenge. By highlighting FOSS advantages for societies in expanding access to benefits of the information communication technologies (ICT) without copyrights infringements as well as adapting those technologies for the local needs at the current stage and development of those in the future, the paper speculates how FOSS can help these countries to reduce the software piracy rate. This issue is also very important in the light of negotiations of the Central Asian states to become WTO members.

There are other approaches to benefit advantages of ICT for development with no or at least less violation of the intellectual property rights (IPR) globally. This paper does not claim that they are less efficient than the one focused in it. For example, utilization of licensed proprietary software using an efficient licensing scheme of the proprietary companies for academic communities, or using the advantages of those companies who provide their products on the discount basis to developing countries around the globe. But the principal different of the FOSS-oriented approach to overcome this challenge is the opportunity for developing and transitional countries of the region to be not only a passive users of technologies but to grow into their developers and adapters, which allows them to compete for finding their niche in the global information society.

The paper describes the current proprietary-oriented software industry of the region, tries to explain the reasons behind the high level of unlicensed software distribution in Tajikistan, current and potential challenges that this so-called 'allowed software piracy rate' causes and might cause, explains advantages of FOSS for overcoming these challenges and provides recommendations for budgetary organizations, academic community and civil society as well as software vendors to make use of those advantages. Focus on FOSS allows growth of local developers communities and their opportunity to compete with the international developers. As argued in this paper one of the optimal ways to reduce IPR violation, develop local skills, increase local intellectual property resources, and develop culture of respect to the principles of law.

The post Soviet Central Asia is a region with almost 60 million inhabitants of its 5 landlocked countries, which besides having things in commons, including customs and the same 'istan' or 'stan' suffix in their names, which means land of, also share the common history. Memorable part of that history is the time when all of them had a direct tie to the global economy. This was in the period of flourish of the great silk road. Region of that time significantly contributed in than global economy development and it has an advantage to obtain similar opportunity now. This opportunity is information society that is capable to empower the countries of the region to actively participate in the development of the global economy.

Highlighting one of the common customs that is sharing things and ideas is important for the paper to explain the fact why people are so keen to share unlicensed and licensed proprietary software applications even if it is against the law. Another important for this paper fact is that most of the population in the region lives in rural area. The ever existing disparity between urban and rural areas is becoming as obvious as never before. Previous attempts to narrow this disparity, like during the flourish of the ancient Silk Road that was ruined by the waves that caused Columbus's voyage when he discovered America and the other was destroyed with the collapse of the Soviet Union, never succeeded.

The current attempt is unique because of the tool it has an advantage to make use of that is ICT. And the initiatives that private and public sectors and representatives of NGOs supported by the international fundings have been undertaking since the mid of 1990 in countries of the region prove that the advantages of the current opportunity has been realized. There have been developed and adopted ICT-related legislation and ICT-oriented programs and projects.