Thirty-five percent of the software installed on personal computers worldwide was pirated in 2004, a one percentage point decrease from 36% in 2003. Yet, losses due to piracy increased from $29 billion to $33 billion.
These are among key findings of a global software piracy study released today by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the international association of the world's leading software developers. The independent study, which indicates that software piracy continues to be a major challenge worldwide, was conducted by global technology research leader IDC.
BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman said,
"Worldwide, one out of every three copies of software in use today has been obtained illegally. These losses have a profound economic impact in countries around the world. Every copy of software used without proper licensing costs tax revenue, jobs, and growth opportunities for burgeoning software markets."
In 2004, the world spent more than $59 billion on commercial packaged PC software, up from $51 billion in 2003. But over $90 billion was actually installed, up from $80 billion the year before. The increase in losses to $33 billion was, in part, the result of the fact that the PC software market grew over six percent and the U.S. dollar fell against many of the world's currencies.
Among the key findings:
• Although piracy rates decreased in 37 countries, they increased in 34 countries
• In more than half the 87 countries studied, the piracy rate exceeded 60%, in 24 countries, the piracy rate exceeded 75%
• The countries with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam (92%), Ukraine (91%) and China (90%)
• The countries with the lowest piracy rates were the United States (21%), New Zealand (23%) and United Kingdom (27%)
John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC said,
"Piracy is still most prevalent in countries and regions where the software market is growing as personal computing becomes more integral to work and daily life. But we've learned from nations such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that adopting policies to protect intellectual property is key to curbing piracy. With a 34 percent piracy rate, UAE is the only emerging economy listed among the top 20 low-piracy nations, likely attributable to policy measures on intellectual property enacted in the 1990s."
IDC used proprietary statistics for software and hardware shipments, conducted more than 7,000 interviews in 23 countries, and enlisted IDC analysts in over 50 countries to review local market conditions.
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