Apparel manufacturers now have to be even more conscious/responsible as buyers and western countries are monitoring even the software being used by factories to ensure they are genuine. This came to notice when California Attorney General Kamala Harris accused Pratibha Syntex Ltd., Indore in a lawsuit of gaining an unfair competitive advantage over American companies by using pirated software in clothing production. Pratibha Syntex is a leading vertically integrated company of India specializing in organic garments with a total group turnover of more than Rs. 1675 crore in 2011-12.
It has been claimed that the company violated California’s unfair competition law by failing to pay licensing fees for software manufactured by companies including Microsoft Corp., Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) and Symantec Corp. (SYMC). The unpaid fees gave Pratibha Syntex a “significant cost advantage in the low-margin business of apparel manufacturing,” Harris said in a statement. Ningbo Beyond Home Textile Co., China is also under target for the same reason. Since 2010, units of Ningbo have shipped approximately 7,13,000 pounds of apparel products into California, while Pratibha has shipped more than 19,000 pounds into the state.
The suits, including California v. Ningbo Beyond Home Textile Co., BC499771, and California v. Pratibha Syntex Ltd., BC499751, California Superior Court, and County of Los Angeles are targeted at companies whose “unlawful actions are eroding California’s garment industry and placing California companies that legally pay for computer software at a disadvantage.”
