RSSRussian Piracy Costs US $1.8 Billion
By Ed Oswald | Published February 14, 2006, 1:48 PM
Russian piracy is becoming costly to U.S. companies, according to a report released late Monday by the International Intellectual Property Association. In 2005 alone, nearly $1.8 billion was lost due to pirated films, music and software, said the organization.
While that may seem staggering, piracy in China is even worse. The IIPA said that in 2005, bootlegged software and entertainment cost U.S. businesses $2.37 billion.
In most sectors, the rate of piracy in Russia is between 70 to 80 percent. Experts blame the high rates on a lax enforcement of the nation's copyright laws.
While Russia has worked hard recently to bring its laws into compliance with international treaties and accepted norms, many businesses continue selling pirated copies of DVDs, CDs and software releases.
Business software piracy was the biggest problem in the country, accounting for $748 million in losses during the year. Next on the list was music piracy with $475 million, and film with $266 million in losses came in third. Entertainment software piracy totaled $224 million, according to the study.
"Repeated efforts by industry and the U.S. government over many years to provide meaningful and deterrent enforcement of its copyright and other laws...have yielded little progress," the IIPA said in a statement.
The country's piracy problems are also an issue with the World Trade Organization. In order to join the group, Russia must sign deals with all other member countries, and thus far piracy issues have been holding up talks in the United States.
Um, guys, does anyone knows why author wrote Association instead of Alliance (about IIPA)? and does anyone knows how "they" (IIPA) count losses (and production of pirated CD/DVD)? Making that up?
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|I live in Russia, and i know this is our big problem. But 3 or 5 years ago the piracy problem was bigger. For example: to work with Microsoft products such as Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office every factories, goverment buildings (banks, schools, police departments) and other business companies - must use only license software. If not - they take damage from law and it's cost big money in the future. I think the main problem inside the country. People like me and other "office workers" that have a little "normal" payments (300 - 450$) in a mounth don't have a chance to buy license software. Piracy software or DVD films cost 4$ instead 50 $ for license products. We need to increase a level of life first. I realy hope that one day Russia deals with all piracy products.
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|"We need to increase a level of life first"
Exactly, this is why there is piracy, because not everyone is filthy rotten rich. Some can't grasp that. Others think, hey too bad then you shouldn't use the software or media. Well that's a matter of OPINION (not that i disagree with it for the most part), but the FACT is, the poorer among civilizations ARE using loads of pirated software and media. So the "$1.8 billion was lost" is a load of baloney, since many of them were probably not able to afford such things anyway, or would not have purchased.
And you know, i've seen many here (USA), who are pretty well off, who also use pirated material - but hey what can you do. Pirated material, whatever you may think of it morally, is in a way, an equalizer. Anyway, if it's available, people are going to snatch it up. Legal or not, just look at the so called "war on drugs"
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|In Indonesia too.
It is easy to buy a DVD contain of Complete software with cost about $5.
There is already law number 14/ 2002 about copyright, but till now the shop still open in big malls
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|This is ludicrously exaggerated phantastillionic war clamor.
If, of course, you charge every NOT sold copy with a ten thousand per centage surcharge - well, then, maybe, it will come near to what they might expect - just as a revenge, cause they hate people who have no respect for them . . .
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|It's always an economic question. How much of an average annual salary is someone willing to spend on a given product, also given that it is very easy to not pay for and that there is little penalty for doing so... If you make $6000/year, and you think paying $400 is a good idea, you're insane.
Pick the poison -- piracy and universal dominance, or no piracy and millions of OO converts.
IMHO, MS needs to release a "Gold" edition of office, too. Maybe even free. Why not give away Word and Excel? Strip the database connectivity, and the network install. Put an ad in there on how to upgrade. Whatever. But for every crackdown, you convert more to OO2.
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|When the cost of Windows XP is equivalent to an entire month's salary for the average Chinese worker, is it surprising there is such a high rate of piracy?
Also, as twosheds rightly points out, piracy doesn't always equate to lost sales, and indeed people using pirated software don't cost the companies anything in terms of printed manuals and media, so the true cost of piracy is no doubt far south of the claims made by those paid to propogate the piracy myth.
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|Make a Russian pay for MS Office and they'll more than likely turn to Open Office instead. The methodology for arriving at these figures is ludicrous.
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|I could see how in the future it would become things like these that send nations to war.
Not yet though...
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