KOCHI: The Rubber Board has warned exporters and traders against the use of pirated software in the wake of the Unfair Competition Act (UCA) in the US. The recently-passed Act prevents US importers from buying a product manufactured by a company which uses pirated software or hardware in its software systems.
“If a rubber manufacturer uses a pirated software or hardware anywhere in his business and sells the product to a US company to become part of a larger product, the US company is liable for damages. This has resulted in an obvious shift in the preference of US companies for buying only from IT-compliant firms,” said Sheela Thomas, chairman of the Rubber Board. With a share of nearly 11.8% of India’s total rubber goods export and growing at a rate of 5%, the US has been one of the major traditional export markets for the country. However, lndian rubber industry is facing close competition from China, Canada and Indonesia, Thomas said.
Source: indiatimes.com
