The UK has the lowest software piracy rate in Western
Europe, a 57-country study by analyst firm IDC claimed.The research, carried out on behalf of
software compliance body the Business Software Alliance (BSA), will
raise eyebrows among IT user groups who have, repeatedly,
criticised the BSA’s heavy-handed approach to stamping out
unlicensed software use in the UK.
In its last campaign in February, the BSA
wrote to 43,000 UK companies asking them to complete a software
audit and warned company directors that they faced up to 10 years
in prison and unlimited fines if their firms are found to be using
illegal software.
The BSA also has a controversial "name and
shame" approach for companies it finds using unlicensed software
and offers cash rewards for employees who snitch on their
employers.
The rate of UK software piracy used in the
study was 25%, although that figure comes from the BSA's 2001
assessment.
BSA chairman Mark Floisand admitted the
current figure could be lower. “We’ve seen the rate come down
progressively over the past few years,“ he said.
IT barrister Stephen Mason said there was a
disparity between the relatively low level of non-compliance in the
UK and BSA’s “aggressive” approach and suggested the BSA could be
under pressure from its parent body in the US to hit targets.
“Such an aggressive approach doesn’t elicit
the same response in the UK,” he said. Mason said users should
comply with their software licences but added that there was no
obligation to co-operate with BSA or its rival, the Federation
Against Software Theft (FAST), as the two have “no powers
whatsoever”.
Mason advised companies that may be forced to
deal with the BSA to make it a term of settlement that their
details be kept confidential - a tactic he used successfully for a
client last year.
The BSA's Floisand called for more action
against piracy and pointed to IDC predictions that a reduction in
the software piracy rate from 25% to 15% in the UK would:
- Create an additional £10bn toward UK GDP (gross domestic
product) by 2006.
- Generate £2.5bn in tax revenues.
- Create 40,000 jobs in the IT sector over four years.