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Software companies lost £1.49billion to piracy in the UK in 2008, helping push up the global rate of counterfeit PC applications for the second year in a row. Although progress is being seen to stem the ‘losses,’ notably in France and Egypt thanks to strict and drastic measures, they hit new highs both in the UK and worldwide. Globally, the value of losses to the software industry from PC software piracy broke the $50bn level for the first time in 2008, coming in 11% up on the previous year. Meanwhile, losses to UK software firms in 2008 were the highest ever, yet the rate of pirated PC software has stalled recently, before last year’s rise to 27%. Such are the findings of a global IDC software piracy study, commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), whose members include leading software makers. “With more than one in four software installations categorised as illegal in the UK, we cannot afford to give up the fight against software piracy,” said Alyna Cope, BSA UK committee member. “Software piracy hurts our knowledge-based economy by weakening the very foundation on which it is built - respect for intellectual property and innovation.” The figures show the UK has the 13th lowest piracy rate in the world, but the value of legal settlements for BSA members in 2009 is already 25 times up on the same period last year. John Gantz of IDC said consumers hit by the recession may hold on to computers longer, which would tend to increase piracy, as older PCs are more likely to host unlicensed software. However, tighter purse strings are spurring sales of inexpensive ‘netbooks’, which tend to be pre-loaded, and offer firms software asset management programs to lower IT costs, he said. The report’s subtext is that, more than the economic slowdown, the rapid growth in PC markets in nations where counterfeiting is rife, such as India, remains piracy’s main accelerant. May 14, 2009 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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