BMPA's letter of protest to Adobe

In this letter, the president of the BMPA, Faheem Agboatwala said, "We (BMPA members) take this opportunity to drive home a collective protest. The quality, content and tone of telephone calls made are abysmal. The treatment meted out to members of our trade (read Adobe customers) is boorish and seen as a blackmail."

 

Agboatwala continued, "We draw your attention in arresting this menace immediately. We ask you to follow the matter with knack and persuasion. And not with any form of threat. We also invite you to make out another pan-industry offer that can improve compliance by engaging through a conducive climate for clinching sales."

 

This is not the first time an Indian print association has had a run in with Adobe. In 2013, Offset Printers’ Association Ludhiana issued a press statement alleging that Adobe Systems India has been sending “threatening letters” to the printers.

 

At that time, Umang Bedi, managing director, Adobe South Asia said, “Adobe advocates the use of appropriate intellectual property protection for its world-leading innovative technology. As is standard industry practice worldwide, from time to time we ask for proof of ownership and usage of software licenses from customers who use our software in their business. As is common in the industry, a letter seeking clarification about this was sent to members of the Offset Printers Association recently. The letter asks for compliance information to be returned in seven days but nowhere in this letter are threats of any kind made.

 

Likewise Anand Limaye has made representations to Adobe as the then president of Mumbai Mudrak Sangh as well as Maharashtra Mudran Parishad when there were "raids" at printing units of the members.

 

When PrintWeek India spoke to him in his recent capacity as honorary general secretary of the All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP), he said, “We understand and empathise with the plight of our members and as AIFMP we will safeguard the interests of all our members. However, at the same time, I encourage our members to ensure they are using genuine software, which benefits not only their business efficiency and security, but also helps the national economy.”

 

“We would like Adobe to educate our members on the perils of software piracy. We also collaborate to train members on the latest print industry technologies, and we have worked with Adobe and other companies to negotiate other exclusive benefits for our members, such as discount pricing, free seminars and resources to help grow their businesses,” he added. 

 

PrintWeek India's view: Software piracy and intellectual property infringement continues to be a challenge for India, with significant economic impact to the nation. By implementing software asset management systems and protocols, a business can protect their units from the harmful impact of software piracy and enjoy the benefits provided by genuine software. Till such time, we hope senior print firm executives and CEOs are not harassed by government representatives.

 

If you have a view on this burning issue, please vote in the Adobe poll on www.printweek.in

 

This news was published on 27 March 2015