SPA MAKES FIRST VISIT TO RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Intellectual Property and Digital Highways Focus of Moscow Talks

Washington, D.C., Feb. 5, 1996 - This week, the Software Publishers
Association's (SPA) president, Ken Wasch, will visit Moscow in the first
official trip to the Russian Federation by SPA, a group noted for its
efforts to curtail software piracy through education and enforcement.

Wasch will be a featured speaker at the Moscow Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Information Service (USIS). The
conference's purpose is to exchange views with Russian government
officials and software industry representatives on the importance of
intellectual property protection. Wasch will also explain how SPA relies
on education and legal measures to fight software piracy.

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Wasch will meet with policy makers from ROSPATENT, the
Russian Copyright and Patent Office and members of ROSAPO, an association
of Russian software developers. He will deliver a speech titled "Digital
Highways From Moscow to Vladivostok," which explains why intellectual
property rights are critical to developing a successful software industry
and the information infrastructure.

"Russia enjoys a reputation throughout the world as home of ingenious
software writers," Wasch said. "But one of the highest rates of software
piracy in the world, estimated at more than 90 percent in 1994, stifles
that ingenuity and hurts U.S. software companies too."

The high point of the visit will be Wednesday, Feb. 7, when Wasch meets
with Deputy Foreign Economic Relations Minister Georgiy Garunia to discuss
minimum standards of intellectual property protection and enforcement
required for Russia to become a member of the World Trade Organization.
Wasch will also meet with Russian judges and law enforcement officials.

The USIS IPR Moscow conference coincides with SPA's testimony Feb. 7, in
important U.S. congressional hearings on copyright and digital highways.
To arrange a press interview with Wasch or SPA Counsel Mark Traphagen,
contact Loni Singer (see above contact information), who can also provide
copies of the "Digital Highways" speech.

The USIS Moscow IPR Conference is the latest in a series of national and
regional conferences in which SPA has emphasized the importance of
intellectual property protection for technological development and
international trade.  Last year, SPA participated in similar regional
conferences in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

SPA's focus is on companies developing and publishing software applications
and interactive content. SPA is the leading trade association of the
desktop software industry, representing the leading publishers as well as
many start-up firms in the business, consumer and education markets. Its
1,200 members account for 90 percent of the sales of the U.S. packaged
software industry. Hundreds of these companies look to SPA to protect
their intellectual property and promote trade in the United States and
around the world. SPA is an international organization with offices both
in the United States and Europe. SPA press releases are available through
CompuServe (GO:SPAFORUM), on SPA's Web site at http://www.spa.org or
through Fax-on-Demand at (800) 637-6823.

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756
 
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