OPA reiterates its allegations against Adobe

In response to the above claim, Umang Bedi, managing director, Adobe South Asia had told PrintWeek India that the letters are not threatening in nature and it is a standard industry practice to ask for proof of ownership and usage of software licences. The response from Bedi can be read here.

Further to the response from Bedi, OPA issued a fresh statement against Adobe. In a letter to PrintWeek India, OPA has reiterated its allegations, and have enclosed Adobe's letter, which is appended below.

OPA stated, "Every printer must use legal software for any of their professional or personal usage. We urge our members to always buy original software. Time to time we have been persuading our members and other printers of the region to use only original software. Not long ago, Mohit Kohli (Adobe India) was also invited as one of the paid speakers during our Soft intervention programs to canvass the printers for not using pirated software, which itself indicates the intention of OPA on this issue.

"Ludhiana predominately represents micro or small printers, where they don’t even have the regular office staff, it becomes difficult for such units to reply such a threatening notices issued by a private company. Moreover it cannot be said to be the duty of a printer/packaging printer or a person not even using the software to supply any data to a private company. Yes, Adobe can physically check the units which are not using genuine software and can take any action according to the rules, but sending threatening letters are not the correct attitude, we feel.

"Yes the letters being sent are threatening in nature, if not, why the news clipping of units being raided and people being jailed are being sent along with the letter? What Adobe India wants to convey with these clippings?

"I would like to highlight another discriminating attitude of Adobe India - Ludhiana being a packaging hub, 85% to 90% printers here are only packaging printers or converters, majority of them may not require adobe products other than Photoshop or Acrobat reader (freely available). Most of these packaging printers do not even have computers, they get there designing jobs done from Freelancers. These printers are forced to buy the bundle of software (including Photoshop at approx Rs 55,922/-) whereas the photographers of the city are offered only Photoshop software at Rs 25,000/- approx. You very well know, Photo Studios these days are no different than a printing unit because it is the same digital printer they are using these days which many of the printer in the city is using. One printers with one digital printer has to pay more than double the amount a photographer (with the same/similar digital machine) is paying, isn’t it a discrimination?

"Various Die making units here in Ludhiana are also getting the similar letters. They are running pillar to post to get rid of this threat. Recently one packaging printer had contacted us saying that his father (who is an aged heart patient) used to help in his small unit and normally he received all the postage which used to come to them, but since few days he had received around five letters from Adobe which had newspaper clipping in vernacular language, his father has gone into depression and he is afraid that his son might have done something wrong and that’s why he’s getting these letters. He had to be hospitalized for the same. And for your information his unit does not have any computer in their premises even for the last about 13 years.  Now who’s responsible for this kind of inconvenience caused to our members?

"It's OPA’s request to Adobe that kindly use legitimate ways to sell their products."