One third of business software in use is pirated, according to the
software manufacturers' watchdog, the Business Software Alliance
(BSA).
Announcing the results of its annual worldwide survey, the BSA said
that software piracy cost the industry more than £8bn in
2000.
Commenting on the findings, Julia Phillpot, anti-piracy manager for
Microsoft UK, said a major problem was enterprises buying
counterfeit software under the impression it was genuine. "Many
large organisations have been duped in this way," she
claimed.
Beth Scott, vice president of the BSA in Europe, said: "Software
piracy continues to rob the global marketplace of thousands of
jobs, and billions in wages and tax revenues. It is also a
potential barrier to innovation and product development around the
world."
Some software vendors have estimated that as much as 80% of
software used by small and medium-sized enterprises is pirated.
But according to Microsoft's Phillpot, "Most customers want to
operate legally using genuine software. We work with customers to
make sure that their licences are updated and that they have paid
for the software they are using."
The UK had the lowest piracy rate in western Europe at 26% but the
second highest loss at around £370m last year according to the
BSA.
Arlene Martin