Leading international IP consultancy Rouse and Connor, a global leader in contact compliance and software licensing, today announced a ground-breaking new collaboration that will provide leading software firms an integrated solution to recoup revenues lost to software piracy

Software piracy is a well-known problem in Asia: the BSA’s 2017 Global Software Survey shows rates of unlicensed software use at 66% for China and 67% on average for most countries in ASEAN. Despite that, a recent report from CIELA, a service of Rouse, found that in China for example, only a handful of multinational software companies have enforced their rights in China’s courts, although those that did enjoyed significant success

The new service offering from Rouse and Connor will provide multinational software companies with a seamless and technology-enabled customer engagement and legal escalation process to more effectively convert unlicensed users in China and ASEAN region, combining the expertise of Connor in license management and lead generation, and Rouse’s IP dispute resolution capability

Connor’s “ConnorX” multi-channel engagement platform provides lead generation and management, data analytics and a local-language customer engagement service to profile and convert unlicensed users across the region. Where legal escalation is required, ConnorX provides seamless handover to dedicated teams at Rouse and their local network firms across the APAC region to apply a range of enforcement measures. The combined Connor / Rouse service acts as an add-on to clients’ in-house licensing and compliance teams, efficiently addressing the long tail of unlicensed users. This integrated offering, encompassing compliance and legal services, is the first of its kind within the region.

The combined Connor and Rouse programme will debut this autumn servicing a leading global enterprise software client.

Nick Redfearn, Deputy CEO and Global Head of Enforcement, commented:

End-user piracy rates in China and SE Asia are very high, yet these markets are also amongst the fastest-growing. Most software companies’ in-house compliance teams can only tackle a fraction of the unlicensed user base. We believe our partnership with Connor provides a highly efficient, integrated solution, and makes full use of Rouse’s capabilities to provide a seamless process across the diverse jurisdictions of the region

Viresh Chana, Connor CEO, commented:

“In partnership with Rouse, our joint expertise, industry experience, and scale is unmatched across Asia. No other firm is better placed to help software rightsholders recoup lost revenues”.