Technology News & Notes
Smart Computing | 11/14/05
Piracy continues to plague the worldwide software industry, with nearly one-third of all software in use pirated, according to a recent survey by the BSA (Business Software Alliance) and IDC (International Data Corp.).
In 2004, the piracy rate was over 60% in more than half of the countries studied and over 75% in 24 of those countries. Latin America had the highest piracy rates in 2004, and North America had the lowest. In particular, the five countries with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam, Ukraine, China, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia, while the five countries with the lowest piracy rates were the United States, New Zealand, Austria, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
"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," says John Gantz, IDC's chief research officer. "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."
According to the study, software piracy hit the United States the hardest of all countries in 2004, with losses of $6.6 billion, followed by China at $3.5 billion, France at $2.9 billion, and Germany at $2.3 billion.
The Internet remains a primary feeding ground for piracy, with the study pointing to warez sites, spam, auction sites, and P2P (peer-to-peer) systems as catalysts that will continue to increase piracy rates unless countries adopt and enforce strong online copyright laws. IDC predicts that by the end of 2008, 1.2 billion people will be online, and nearly 200 mil....
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