Piracy Hurting Software Industry Growth
Over one-third of the world's software is pirated, and groups considered legitimate business in some countries are contributing to the problem, a study released Thursday by research firm IDC said. The issue of piracy may also be preventing the industry from growing overall.
The study was a joint effort between the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and IDC.
The global piracy rate stands at 35 percent, down just 1 percent from the previous year. A trend towards organized forms of piracy is occurring, researchers found, and it appears some of these groups are actually considered legitimate businesses in some third-world countries.
Still, there has been great success in some regions in the battle against piracy. For example, over the past 13 years in Europe, the piracy rate has fallen from 80 to 35 percent. However, this number is still twenty times the shoplifting rate of retail stores, IDC said.
If the worldwide rate of piracy could be reduced by 10 percent over the next four years, the study claims 2.4 million new jobs would be created, along with $400 billion of economic growth and $67 billion in additional tax revenues.
Furthermore, the IT sector could grow as much as 45 percent by 2009 rather than the 33 percent that is currently forecasted.
"With this report, we are able to further quantify the positive benefits that countries across the world can experience as a result of stronger intellectual property protection and greater education and awareness," said John Gantz, Chief Research Officer of IDC.
The study found that the United States enjoyed the lowest piracy rate, at 21 percent. Still, a 10 percent drop in the piracy rate over four years could result in a $125 billion boost to the nations economy.
The worst offenders are China and Russia, where piracy rates were at 90 and 87 percent respectively. The government has pledged to ensure all software in government institutions is legal by the end of the year, and across state-owned companies by the end of next year.
Microsoft on Thursday expressed its support for the BSA's work, and agreed with the study's findings.
"At Microsoft we believe that our customers want to be sure they are purchasing and using genuine software. We remain committed to advancing education among consumers to identify and obtain genuine software," Microsoft senior vice president Orlando Ayala said in a statement.
"Microsoft is also continuing to invest heavily in engineering world-class anti-counterfeiting technologies to protect our intellectual property, and to supporting government and law enforcement on enforcement actions against counterfeiters."