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FROM now to the end of January, those who blow the whistle on companies using pirated software stand to collect up to $50,000, more than double usual $20,000 reward offered by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
It upped the bounty to grab the attention of businesses and encourage more people to report piracy in the workplace.
'We want to reinforce the message that using unauthorised software is still a criminal offence,' said Mr Tarun Sawney, the BSA's Asia director of anti-piracy.
The move is timed to coincide with companies' year-end budgeting so more will set aside money for legal software.
'Many businesses fail to put a priority on managing software. There are also instances where managers knowingly flout the law for short-term financial gain,' said Mr Sawney.
Since dangling the carrot in February 2005, the software industry watchdog has received 1,040 calls on its hotline and 390 reports on its website.
It said many whistle-blowers have collected between $500 and several thousand dollars for reporting piracy in their workplace.
The biggest reward paid so far was $10,000 to one informant, who led to the nabbing of a local design firm. The company was fined $30,000 for using 51 pieces of illegal software.
The BSA decides on the size of the reward depending on the extent of the violation uncovered.
But despite the bigger reward for the next two months, the main hurdle is getting employees to tell on their employers.
'I don't want to break my own rice bowl,' said a 33-year-old who works in the legal department of a multinational firm here.
A 45-year-old IT manager at a local interactive marketing firm said he would change jobs before snitching on his previous employer.
Under Singapore's Copyright Act, first-time offenders who commit a wilful infringement face a fine of up to $20,000 or six months jail, or both.
Last year, the piracy rate in Singapore stood at 39 per cent, with losses of US$125 million ($180 million). This is according to research firm IDC's fourth annual global software piracy study.
In what appears to be a concerted effort to nab pirates, video game industry watchdog Entertainment Software Association also plans more enforcement action in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Last week, the police raided a total of seven shops at IT mall Sim Lim Square on two different days and seized more than 200 devices that allow users to download and play pirated games on their Nintendo DS handheld. No one was arrested.
itham@sph.com.sg
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