Out of every 100 software programs sold in Brazil, 68 are pirate copies, according to the countryÆs association of software companies. That situation is started to change yesterday, however, when President Fernando Henrique Cardoso ratified a new law for the sector, introducing severe fines and imprisonment for possessing or selling illegal copies of programs. The new law establishes that anyone found with pirate copies is subject to a fine of up to 2,000 times the value of the original pirated program, with only a sinlge back-up copy being exempted. Anyone selling pirate software, meanwhile, becomes subject to prison sentences, which can vary from six months to four years, as well as fines of up to 3,000 times the value of the original. In addition, the new law extends the copyright protection on software from 25 to 50 years from the time it comes onto the market. The author of a program also now has the right to oppose any changes made to it without their authorization by the company reproducing or selling it. Brazil spent the eighties protecting local producers of both hard- and software, much to the chagrin of international vendors, who saw copies of their technology flourish in a rapidly expanding market. Protection for local purveyors of hardware ended in 1992, however, and yesterdayÆs legislation does the same for software.
