Copyright Law

Software Piracy Costs Exceeds 50 Billion

By StephenK

A report was recently released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and market research firm IDC that claims software companies have suffered ?losses? of 50 billion. Highlights from the report summarized in an eweek.com article state the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second consecutive year from 38 percent to 41 percent. The report explains this increase is due to the increase in PC shipments in countries such as China and India which are countries with high levels of piracy.

Another highlight of the report states the global recession will cause piracy to increase because consumers are more likely to hold on to their computers longer and they are more likely to install unlicensed software on older PCs. Predictably the global increase in Internet use is contributing to a increase in piracy and the IDC is projecting there will be 460 million new Internet users in emerging markets.

An interesting trend being seen is the popularity of low cost netbooks contributing to a decrease in piracy due to the fact they are often loaded with legitimate software and operating systems. The report also claims lowering global piracy by one point a year would add 20 billion in stimulus to the IT industry.

The report also states the lowest piracy levels are seen in first world nations such as the United States, Japan, and New Zealand while high piracy levels are seen in countries such as Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia and Zimbabwe.

The report provides suggestions for decreasing piracy explaining a combined effort that involves software developers and government working in unison towards improved education and enforcement is necessary. BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman said it best in his own words stating, ?The proven ?blueprint? for reducing piracy is a combination of consumer education, strong intellectual property policies, effective law enforcement and legalization programs by software companies and government agencies,?.

Full post as published by ZeroPaid on May 13, 2009 (boomark / email).