Piracy numbers are powerful so come on, Dave, crack the whip

The level of software piracy in the UK has remained largely static over the last few years at around the 27% mark.

This morning the Business Software Alliance came out with a host of compelling reasons to reduce the level of illegal software being used by 7 to 10% over the next four years.

These were the reasons:

A reduction in piracy would deliver £1.5bn in tax revenues and £5.4bn in new economic activity and create 13,011 new jobs.

Good luck in getting there, but so far the efforts to reduce piracy have failed to make a big impact and those efforts have been widespread.

The industry would all like that reduction to happen but it is going to take muscle not just from the industry - that has never been lacking - but from the government, too.

The powers that be need to save money so that would be a tick in the box, need to show they can be tough on cheats and that would also be a thumbs up and need to show they care about creative industries.

We wait to see what the reaction to the IDC figures from the government will be.