Microsoft, a member of the Business Software Alliance, took legal action against the South Korean-owned Trimmers Vietnam Co for using pirated software, demanding compensation of VND748m.

Tarun Sawney, senior director of BSA in the Asia-Pacific

Ministry of Cultures, Sports and Tourism inspectors and police found In September 2013 that 41 computers at the company were illegally using software of Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk and Lac Viet.

Trimmers Vietnam admitted wrongdoing and promised to stop using the pirated products. It also committed to compensation and damage management. The company has done nothing about the problem.

Tarun Sawney, senior director of BSA in the Asia-Pacific, urged company leaders to comply with the laws and stop using illegal software under threat of legal action.

He said piracy was damaging the business environment and caused losses to state revenue. Firms using pirated software made their computers vulnerable to attack.

Gold Long John International Co Ltd was last year sued and had to pay more than VND1bn in compensation to Microsoft and Lac Viet.

Software piracy and violations of intellectual property rights are serious problems in Vietnam. A survey by BSA in 2013 showed that Vietnam's software piracy rate was 81 percent. During an inspection last month, the authorities discovered 1,000 copies of pirated software, worth VND13.5bn, at eight foreign companies.