In late January, representatives of a group of companies Penki Kontinentai along with other manufacturers and distributors of computer software participated in the convention of members of the Association Verslo Programinės Įrangos Aljansas (VPIA). The convention was dedicated to a discussion of the Association's operating report, plans for the coming year and other relevant issues pertaining to intellectual property problems in the country.

According to Povilas Kaminskas, President of the VPIA, operating results of the Association are best illustrated by the Lithuanian and global statistics of the use of illegal software. "In Lithuania, the extent of the use of illegal software has decreased, which is a positive outcome. Therefore, in 2015, we plan to continue initiatives on cooperation with the Police Department, State Tax Inspectorate, Association of Accountants and Auditors, to develop new partnerships as well as represent members of VPIA in ministries", said P. Kaminskas.

Tomas Okmanas, representative of Penki Kontinentai and one of the attendees of the convention, believes that companies can avoid losses incurred due to the use of illegal software by way of proper inventory. "Almost 80 percent of illegal software are infected with viruses or other types of malware. This poses a threat to companies in a way that they may loose confidential information, financial and other data. This could be prevented by introducing a proper inventory of software. Unfortunately, only major companies of the country are usually the ones that are interested in the subtleties of inventory", explained T. Okmanas.

Attendees of the convention unanimously agreed that reliable protection of intellectual property in the information technology market is the starting point for the development and introduction of the knowledge society and the knowledge economy. Specialists also expressed the hope that the situation should undergo improvement due to new inventory rules and clear recommendations of the most effective ways of implementing this process, which came into force early this year.

Currently, VPIA unifies 18 manufacturers and distributors of software. The Association actively cooperates with national state institutions, local and international non-governmental organizations and education institutions. The next convention of VPIA is to take place early in 2016.

More about VPIA and its activities