Authorities confiscate computers in piracy raid

IPOH, Dec 4 — The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives,and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) seized computers and suspected pirated software worth RM354,000 in a raid on two businesses here last week.

The haul — which included nine computers and 34 copies of suspected unlicensed software belonging to Adobe, Autodesk, and Solidworks — represented the ministry’s biggest copyright-related seizure in 2017.

The raids were pursuant to a tip-off from software advocacy group Business Software Alliance (BSA).

State KPDNKK chief enforcement officer Shamsul Nizam Khalil said the firms raided were a food manufacturing company in the Pengkalan industrial area on Nov 29 and an interior design business in Canning Garden the next day.

“No arrests were made but we did record statements from the people involved with the companies during the raids,” he said during a press conference.

Shamsul Nizam said investigation were under Section 41(1)(d) of the Copyright Act 1987 that pertains to the possession or use of unlicensed software, which is punishable by a fine of up to RM20,000, or imprisonment of no more than five years, or a combination of the two upon conviction.