Software piracy, along with other forms of intellectural copyright infringement, have now become a criminal offence in Hungary, with the courts able to impose a maximum five year jail term or $40,000 fine. Previously, copyright infringements were treated as civil offences with offenders subject to a maximum fine of just $115. The change in legislation came after the US government announced it was considering imposing sanctions on the country under the ‘Special 301’ statute. To date, the copyright and patent infringement concerns of the US administration has centred on reverse engineering in the pharmaceutical industry and audio and video piracy, despite press reports that Digital Equipment Corp partner and Microsoft Corp distributor Szamalk Software Kft pressed Microsoft to take action in one particular instance. However, a spokesman for the Business Software Alliance stated that some of its members were looking to test the legislation with individual actions. Meanwhile, Hungarian distribution firm Duna Elektronika Rt which is 17% owned by the MicroAge Inc – issued a written statement rejecting suggestions that it might be involved in the widespread abuse of software which were made to Computergram by a non-attributable source. Vice-president Bela Hubert stated: To the best of our knowledge we have never intentionally or unintentionally been involved in any type of software piracy. We will co-operate with any authority necessary to provide proper documentation for all our customer base.
