Origin of the audit and computer crime law in Panama
1. History and Development of the Audit
There is evidence that some kind of audit was carried out in ancient times. The fact that the sovereigns demanded the maintenance of the accounts of their residence by two independent notaries, shows that some measures were taken to avoid embezzlement in these accounts. As the trade developed, the need for independent reviews arose to ensure the adequacy and purpose of the records maintained in various business enterprises. Auditing as a profession was first recognized under the British Public Limited Companies Act of 1862 and general recognition took place during the term of the Act “A methodical and standardized accounting system was desirable for adequate information and for prevention of fraud ”.It also recognized… "A general acceptance of the need for an independent version of the accounts of small and large companies." From 1862 to 1905, the auditing profession grew and flourished in England, and was introduced to the United States around 1900. In England, the emphasis continued to be on detecting fraud as the primary objective of auditing. In 1912 Montgomery said:
On what might be called the days the audit was formed, students were taught that the primary objectives of the audit were:
The detection and prevention of fraud.
The detection and prevention of errors; However, in the following years there was a decisive change in demand and service, and the current purposes are:
Checking out the current financial condition and earnings of a business.
The detection and prevention of fraud, this being a minor objective.
This change in audit objective continued to unfold, not uncontested, until about 1940. At this time, "There was a degree of agreement that the auditor could and should not be primarily concerned with detecting fraud." The primary objective of an independent audit should be to review the financial position and results of operations as indicated in the clients' financial statements, so that an opinion on the adequacy of these presentations can be offered to interested parties.
Parallel to the growth of independent auditing in the United States, internal and government auditing was developing, which became part of the field of auditing. As the independent auditors became aware of the importance of a good internal control system and its relationship to the scope of testing to be performed in an independent audit, they were in favor of the growth of audit departments within the organizations of the auditors. clients, who would be responsible for the development and maintenance of good internal control procedures, independently of the general accounting department. Progressively, companies adopted expanding the activities of the internal audit department into areas that are beyond the scope of accounting systems.In our days, internal audit departments are reviews of all phases of corporations, of which financial operations are part.
Government auditing was officially recognized in 1921 when the United States Congress established the General Accounting Office.
This law is the one that investigates all matters related to the collection, payment and application of public funds. Subsequent legislation expanded and clarified its auditing authority, particularly with respect to government corporations, but the 1921 law laid the primary basis for the broad scope of auditing, going beyond accounting, financial matters, and legal compliance.
The objective of the BSA is to eradicate computer piracy by working on three fundamental aspects: Education, promoting legislation that protects intellectual property rights, and taking legal action.
2. Piracy of computer programs and the law
The law
In Panama, copyright has been protected since the first National Constitution of the Republic of 1904. The constitution recognizes the exclusive property of every author or inventor over his work or invention.
The matter of copyright was regulated until December 1994 by Title V Book IV of the Administrative Code, which was subrogated by the Law of Copyright and Related Rights (Law No. 15 of August 8, 1994). This law has been in effect since January 1, 1995 and expressly protects computer programs or software, designated as computer programs.
Article 17: Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 107, it is presumed, unless proven otherwise, that the person who appears as such in the work, in the customary manner, is the producer of the computer program.
Article 18: Unless otherwise agreed, the contract between the authors of the computer program and the producer implies the limited and exclusive transfer, in favor of the latter, of the economic rights recognized in this law, as well as the authorization to decide on the disclosure and to exercise moral rights over the work, insofar as this is necessary for the exploitation of the work.
In accordance with the regulations of this law, computer programs are protected in the same terms as literary works. Any unauthorized use, reproduction or distribution of computer programs is illegal, according to the law and regulation. The distribution includes the sale, rental or any form of transfer of property for consideration, that is, for profit. Likewise, the use of computer programs by several people within the same company through the installation of networks, workstations or other similar procedures is prohibited.
The only exception is the user's ability to make a single copy of the original for the exclusive purposes of archiving or security. No other copy can be made without the express permission of the copyright holder.
3. What are the penalties?
The law establishes civil and criminal actions against violations of the rights of software owners. By civil means, the copyright owner may request the cessation of the illegal activity and compensation for material and moral damages suffered by the violation, as well as precautionary measures, including the seizure of illegal copies and of the devices or instruments used in reproduction, in addition to the seizure of the income obtained from the illegal use of the software.
Violations of copyright of computer programs are also punishable as a crime with penalties of 2 to 4 years in prison and accessory fines of up to B / 20,000.00. These crimes empower the authority in charge of the case to order the preventive detention of the accused before a final judgment is issued.
Article 121: Anyone who, without authorization, will be punished with penalties from 30 days to 18 months:
1. Unduly use the title of a work, in violation of Article 28.
2. Make a modification to the work, in violation of the provisions of article 37.
3. Publicly communicate in continuation, by any form or procedure, in violation of articles 36 and 38, in original or transformed form, fully or partially, a work protected by this law.
4. Use copies of the work in violation of the right established in article 40 and even the distribution of illegitimately reproduced phonograms.
5. Retransmit by any means, wired or wireless in violation of article 95, a broadcast or radio broadcast.
6. Reproduce or distribute, being the assignee or licensee authorized by the holder of the respective right, a greater number of copies than allowed by the contract or communicate, reproduce or distribute the work after the authorization period that has been agreed has expired.
7. The quality of the original or derived owner of some of the rights conferred in this law is falsely attributed, and by means of this undue attribution obtain that the competent judicial or administrative authority supposed the communication, reproduction or distribution of the work, interpretation or production.
8. Present false declarations of income statements, repertoire used, identifications of the authors, authorization obtained, number of copies or any other adulteration of data likely to cause damage to any of the right holders protected by this law.
The action referred to in this article will be applied in accordance with the offense committed as established by the competent authority, following the corresponding processes.
Article 122: The penalty will be two to four years in prison for who:
Reproduce in violation of articles 36 and 39 in original or modified form, in whole or in part, works protected by this law.
Introduce in the country, store, distribute, export, sell, rent or put into circulation in any other way, illicit reproductions of the protected works.
Write in the registry of copyright and related rights a work, interpretation or production of others as if they were your own or as those of persons other than the true author, artist or producer.
Article 125: As an accessory penalty, the judge will impose on the person responsible for any of the crimes indicated in this chapter, a fine of B /.1,000.00 to B /.20,000.00 according to the seriousness of the offense.
4. What are the obligations of the user?
The main obligation as a software user is to acquire original programs for your use only. If you purchase software for use in a business, each computer each computer must have a user license. It is illegal to purchase an original software game and use it on more than one computer, loan it, copy it, or distribute it, for any reason, without the express prior permission of the program manufacturer.
When buying software, check that it is a legitimate product. Although software manufacturers are trying to make products increasingly difficult to replicate, some counterfeit software packages appear identical to the original manufacturer's package, but are of inferior quality.
Buyers or users of fake or copied products unnecessarily risk:
viruses, damaged discs or defective software, inadequate documentation, lack of technical support, inability to obtain software update offers.
Furthermore, if you buy or use counterfeit or copied software, you not only deny the product's developers their legitimate income, but also cause damage to local and international industry. All software companies spend years of work developing a product. A portion of every dollar you spend buying original software is reinvested in research and development for better and more advanced software. When you buy counterfeit software, your money goes straight into the pirates' pockets.
5. Estimated level of piracy of computer programs
In 1996, illegal copying of programs caused losses of over $ 11 billion to software producers around the world. In Panama, the piracy rate reached 64% and the losses exceeded 5 million US dollars.
6. Government commitment to comply with the law
The government of Panama, aware of the need to offer real and effective protection to copyright holders, approved the Law of Copyright and Related Rights, which establishes much more serious sanctions than those that existed in the past and faster procedures. Likewise, the new Industrial Property Law No. 35 of May 10, 1996, which entered on November 15, 1996, grants the agents of the Public Ministry (Prosecutors) the power to initiate investigations ex officio for violation of the rights of author, when the commission of the crime is known. The agents of the Public Ministry have the power to order precautionary measures, such as the confiscation of illegal copies and the means and instruments used in the commission of the crime. Therefore,those who infringe the rights of software authors will be severely punished.
7. Anti-piracy remedies
If you know of software piracy or businesses that sell fake products, call the BSA at 265-3894. If you need information on the subject, the BSA offers tools and information to assist businesses and individuals in managing their software effectively.
8. Bibliography
Cashin, James A.; Neuwirth, Paul D.; Levy, Joh F.
Audit Manual, Volume No. 1
Ocean Editorial Group, 1988.
Internet
www.bsa.org/es/
Administrative Code of the Republic of Panama
Literary and Artistic Property
Title V, Law no. 15 of August 8, 1994.
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