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The Police raid on training offices of Radiant Software in Chennai on 19th December resulted in the arrest of two branch mangers. Both of them have now been released on bail. One of them was released after a day in the jails and the other after two days. It is still not clear to us whether the case was booked under IPC or under the Copyright Act. We would welcome any of the viewers to send us information on this regard. According to unconfirmed reports from the Company, there has been no violation of Copyright and the Police have not clearly indicated the charge. The top executives of the Company are reported to have obtained anticipatory bail to avoid arrests. Market circles have raised a question that if it was a routine raid to curb Piracy, why raid on many branches of one company? Why not on one branch each of many companies? It is also being asked if the IPO programme of Radiant coming up in January had any influence on the choice? If so, one wonders whether there was any conspiracy involving competitors in the market? A few in the market also say that there were copyright related notices to many Companies recently and Radiant perhaps had ignored them. It is now reported that top officials of Radiant and Oracle are striking out a deal in USA which would enable an amicable settlement of the dispute. But, who will compensate the two branch managers who had to undergo the ignominy of being in the Jail for a few days? This should also focus the attention of IT professionals on the legal responsibilities of such managers. Readers must have also observed that NASSCOM ran a front page advertisement recently (December 21), announcing a reward of Rs 50,000 to any person who confidentially submits an information to them about any pirated software being used. If this prompts a spate of complaints from existing and past employees of large companies, the CEO s and the Network managers may have to face the same fate as the two unsuspecting branch managers. It is precisely for this reason that Cyber Law Literacy is an essential knowledge for every corporate executive.. More so for those who cannot afford to visit the indian jails. It is also of academic interest to debate whether the "Arrest" of the branch managers was required. After the sealing off of the premises, I donot think that there was any need to arrest the managers since they were only vicariously responsible for the incident and the possibilities of their absconding if not arrested was remote. Let's not forget that in a recent case in Chennai, two murderers who had been first arrested because of the private investigation by the victim's family were allowed to be released on bail. The accused later vanished. When Police donot mind murder accused being out of jail, it was cruel that they thought it necessary to keep two officials in the jail unmindful of the psychological consequences on them and their families. It appears that the Police have been unfair in this case in arresting the officials for a petty technical irregularity. I wish that arrests of such nature are avoided in future. Anyway, if you are in charge of a Computer either directly or indirectly, consider obtaining an "Anticipatory Bail" and keep it in the pocket. It may be a good insurance. Naavi December 26, 2000 |
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