Piracy continues to be a costly global problem for
software makers, with $1 in every $3 spent on applications and
programs going to illegal sources, according to a revamped study
from the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
The study, conducted for the BSA by market research company IDC,
found that 36% of all software bought in 2003 had been pirated,
costing software suppliers worldwide losses of $29bn (£15bn). Of
the $80bn in software installed on computers worldwide last year,
only $51bn was legally purchased, according to the group.
In the US alone, the piracy rate was 22% - the lowest among the
nations surveyed. By contrast, the highest piracy rates in the
world are in Vietnam and China, where piracy stood at 92% last
year, according to the study.
Although it had the lowest piracy rates in the world, the
financial hit in the US was the highest, costing the industry
$6.5bn in revenues. Hong Kong had the smallest losses from piracy,
totalling $102m.
By continent, the piracy rate in the Asia/Pacific region was
53%, with dollar losses totalling more than $7.5bn. In Eastern
Europe, the piracy rate was 71%, with dollar losses at more than
$2.1bn. In Western Europe, the rate was 36%, and dollar losses
totalled $9.6bn.
In Latin American countries, the average piracy rate was 63%,
with losses totalling nearly $1.3bn. And in Middle Eastern and
African countries, the piracy rate was an average of 56%, with
losses totalling more than $1bn.
BSA said the methodology of its new study has been revised from
past years, when the organisation looked only at business desktop
software. The study by IDC includes new categories of software such
as operating systems, games and other consumer-oriented programs as
well as local-language applications around the world.
In the past, the study results focused on shipment data from
software and hardware manufacturers, according to the group. The
new study uses proprietary IDC data for those shipments, as well as
more than 5,600 interviews in 15 countries designed to better
analyse the problem and to offer a more extensive picture of the
problem.
The changes in how the latest study was done mean past totals
cannot be directly compared for analysis. But they will lead to
improved tracking and analysis in the future, said Bob Kruger,
vice-president of enforcement at the BSA. The study answers critics
who complained that old BSA studies only looked at business desktop
software piracy, he said.
"I think it underscores what we've been saying for a long time,
that this is a huge problem and it needs attention" from
manufacturers and governments around the world, Kruger said. "It
adds some credence to our arguments over the years that everybody
loses from piracy."
Todd R Weiss writes for Computerworld