A fifth of software used by London businesses is unlicensed,
costing the software industry £149m a year, according to a report
published today.
The report coincides with the start of a
two-month campaign by the
Business Software Alliance (BSA) to crack
down on software piracy in the capital, the UK's worst offending
city.
The London crackdown follows earlier campaigns in Glasgow and
Manchester as part of a BSA programme to raise awareness about the
impact of software piracy on the local economy.
Software piracy, said the BSA, is a drain on technology and
creative companies, which employ 500,000 people and create 20% of
new jobs in London each year.
Software piracy in the whole of the UK reached a record high of
27%, worth £1.49bn in losses to the software industry last year,
a study by IDC revealed.
According to the study, 41% of software in use around the world
is unlicensed, with an overall loss to the software industry of
£43bn.
The BSA will contact more than 1,000 London-based companies to
encourage them to return self-audit forms to ensure the software
installed is licensed appropriately and cost-effectively.
At least one London company has been forced to pay a settlement
to software suppliers for using unlicensed software as a result of
the BSA's investigations.
The BSA said other firms face similar fines based on how much
unlicensed software they are using and how long they have been
using it, and company directors could be personally liable.
Alyna Cope, BSA-UK spokesperson, said the organisation wants to
promote the value of software and educate business on how to manage
it better.
The BSA campaign is aimed at helping businesses save time and
money in the economic downturn and reduce the risk of legal action,
said Cope.