SYDNEY – If you can’t beat, forgive them.

Altium has inked a deal with the China Government under which the CAD tool supplier will offer amnesty to those using unauthorized copies of its software in exchange for special pricing and access to Chinese-language peer forums.

As part of the deal, the company will also establish training centers in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Shenzhen, with the aim of training 40,000 engineers over the next four years.

The company estimates that about 95% of the 300,000 people using its software in China do so illegally. Altium’s customers in China include Foxconn, the company said. Over the next four years, Altium hopes to convert 20% of the software currently pirated into licenses.

"We're not dismayed about the piracy,'' said Altium's president and chief operating officer Emma Lo Russo. " While they haven't paid for our product, they have chosen it.'' She said the 20% target was being “realistic.”

"With a user base of 300,000, if the 20% conversion is realized, that's still a large number of users and a lot of revenue," she said. She estimated a 20% conversion would translate into about $100 million in sales over the next four years.

Altium, which reported about $54 million in sales last year, has increased its China staff to 30, and moved to new offices in Shanghai.

Altium has been negotiating the amnesty with the Chinese government as part of a consortium represented by the Business Software Alliance, which the company joined last year. Other members include Microsoft, Apple and Adobe.