JSC “Penki kontinentai” General Manager I.Dadashov’s press release concerning the incident that occurred in the company.

At the beginning of September the former JSC “Penki kontinentai” employee Svajunas Porutis was caught copying and distributing software in the after-work hours. Tax inspection has drawn up a statement about violation concerning the natural person. The same day S.Porutis was dismissed by my order. That day I also informed InfoBalt Association about what had happened in the company.

It might seem the situation is common and frequently met in Lithuania – the infringer is found, fired, the only thing left is to wait for the verdict of the court. But those found out who wish to replace accents and to put in the forefront the company as the infringer, not the employee. Thus, S.Porutis due to the media has turned out to be almost the main figure and performer of the general company’s policy.

On the 22 of September in the newspaper Verslo Zinios it was announced that that the company may be called to account for the accident because S.Porutis received his clients near the office of JSC “Penki kontinentai” and for his illegal activity used equipment of the company. BNS news agency has announced resembling information. I.Pranckevichene, Business Software Alliance (BSA) advocate, has declared that this is a case without precedent. “To my mind this is one of the grossest violences, when the software is illegally reproduced and distributed in the information technologies company, though it would fight for the legal production.

I am very sorry that Mrs. Pranckevichene has had no opportunity or didn’t want to meet with me personally and to come to know the particulars of this case before announcing information in press. She would have got known that JSC “Penki kontinentai” represents well-known software producers, supports InfoBalt fund and is for the copyright protection. The company produces software that is mainly used for the information and Internet systems itself and sells it not only in Lithuania, but also abroad, so it also cares about copyright protection.

We have more than 25 years experience in intellectual software production, I personally was involved in many its development processes, production and distribution. Lessons we teach should be useful to thousands of technologists and programmers.

JSC ”Penki kontinentai” is a pioneer of information technologies in Lithuania; it has prepared a number of certified “Microsoft” systems engineers. The day mentioned article appeared in Verslo Zinios Alexander Reznik, internet department employee, was being congratulated on having got the name of systems engineer (Microsoft Certified Systems engineer- MCSE). He is the eighth certified systems engineer in the company.

JSC ”Penki kontinentai” actively represents Lithuanian Republic in the international exhibitions, forums and seminars; company’s specialists during 1999-2000 have been leading the President of Lithuania and the governmental delegations during the visits to the foreign countries, where it represented information technologies business of Lithuania, have presented authorized products of the company. Hundred thousands users in all the five continents use polyglot information resources of “Penki kontinentai”. Company’s projects are also widely used by the governmental organizations of Lithuania.

So can the company with such an experience and popularity not respect copyright, Lithuanian and international laws? Mentioning that the company does not struggle with the illegal software usage and distribution is an absurd and unfair.

It will sure be hard for an employer to watch all the big company employees; therefore, it’s them who should be held responsible for their own actions made. The company is seeking to make sure no software is being used or distributed illegally; our employees sign a Labor Contract and also Appendix to it when being hired, according to which they will be held responsible for using illegal software at work. Those employees who are allowed to use CD recording equipment as part of their work sign the paper stating that they are not allowed to use it for any purposes other than what their work requires them to do. Mrs. Pranckevichene did not probably know all this so she blamed my Company of doing illegal business. Such an opinion amazes us; however, there’s no challenge in trying to guess why the responsibility was taken from a natural person and placed upon the Company, which is actively and successfully operating while applying new technologies and also offering new decisions; moreover, the company is going to keep doing the same business in the future. The above change of responsibility was done the rude and unethical way.

It’s a challenge for me to understand how come out of several dozens of traders at Gariunai, and also out of many Internet advertisements offering illegal software, S.Porutis was the one to be chosen. A suspicion is getting stronger that not him but my company “Penki Kontinentai” was chosen. It was chosen even back then when there was no S.Porutis distributing his illegal software. I’m pretty much aware that a company, which is successfully operating is in the way of many other companies. So there is always someone who because he is not able to compete honorably will be trying to use improper ways to undermine the Company’s authority and thus cause material and moral damage to it. I do not turn down the possibility an additional requirement may be added to those of public purchase, labor and service conditions, which may be stated this way: ‘No proposals from the companies earlier punished for illegal software distribution in accordance with the Law are accepted’.

I believe I will be able to find out who was to order such a provocation and also who was supposed to put it into practice. I will do nothing similar to that because certain business ethics does not allow me to do that.

The Court is sure the institution to take any final decisions, not BSA. So the Court will make a resolution concerning who’s the one to blame to No one, even lawyers should blame or take decisions without Court and then announce those publicly. I would like to know after all whose interests is Lithuanian Representatives of BSA protecting? Is it protecting the interests of software producers who established the BSA Association or is it protecting competitors of my Company?

Lesson for the JSC “Penki kontinentai” – such was a headline at the front page of Verslo Zinios. Those who ordered the article and those who wrote it, however, have chosen the wrong headline for it. It is a lesson to all of us, it is a warning that any company, no matter how well it is operating, may all of a sudden find itself to aimed at and then be quite easily dealt with. The fact that due to some employee conscious or unconscious actions an employer may suffer in a quite strong way, will compel one to not only go through the inner order and labor organization of his Company and apply security means needed, but also review the corresponding laws to make sure those comply with modern technology specific attributes. Lithuanian Legal System should be prepared to join information society; it should be ready to not only make use of its advantages but also learn how to manage the information technology problems that might arise.