Software Piracy a Crime ??

It's no big deal in Maldives, everyone uses pirated software. Starting from the games that the kids play to the OS and software's used in the government. It is not considered to be "THEFT". There is no respect for Intellectual Property rights here in Maldives. Simply this does not exist and no one is concerned. It's a damn shame ; ethically this is totally wrong. I know 98% of the people in this country either would not give a jacks ass about it or would be against this idea of intellectual property rights. However my thoughts are very different on this subject to most.

Among the disadvantages we face today include that some technology providers simply refuse to come into Maldives. I have had cases where the legal department of such companies has raised concerns over lack of adequate Intellectual Property, copyright and patent protection laws in the Maldives.

Here we are talking about the financial problems we face today. We can't provide proper housing and other development due to the lack of funds, etc. We fully depend our economy on tourism and fishing. There is no thoughts on other means like technology. Look at India, they export technology and generate high revenues which we all know. Today some of the leading companies in the world are technology companies, like Microsoft, Oracle, Google and so many others. This is enough to conclude that investing on technology has major returns financially. I am in no way saying here in Maldives we can create another Google. I've seen and worked with companies in Sri Lanka who are exporting technology, and I always ask myself why not we?. Why is that our investors don't see such things or our governments encourage this. We don't need oil wells, or other natural resources to generate revenues. All it takes is dedicated and creative people, and investing on these people with a broader vision for the future. The starting point is the education system. Today it's a shame. Our parents are happy to know they teach computers in the school. What do they know? Teaching kids to use MS Paint and MS Word is not the type of education that we should be looking at. What are all the knowing and great minds of our nation thinking. Someone needs to kick them in the ass and tell them they are f**king us up?.

To start off; I feel it's important to make the people realize that software has a value, it's just like any other goods that you buy from any other shop. People should respect that and stop being thieves. That realization helps the people to understand and accept the importance of this industry. It can't be achieved by a few "keyna bahlha" like me or just one person. We have such potential kids in this nation, who really could make things a lot better for the future of this small country. People just need to help these kids and provide them with opportunities. They need to be managed and marketed. Most of all they need to be trusted and valued.