35% of all software is pirated – study

The results show that in 2004, 35% of all software installed on PCs worldwide was pirated, showing a 1% decrease from 36% in 2003. However, the losses attributed to software piracy have increased from $29bn to $33bn. Key findings include, that while piracy rates decreased in 37 countries, they increased in 34 countries. In more than half the 87 countries studied, the piracy rate exceeded 60%. In 24 countries, the piracy rate exceeded 75%. The top three countries with the lowest piracy rates were the US (21%), New Zealand (23%) and Austria (25%). While those with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam (92%), Ukraine (91%) followed by China and Zimbabwe tying for third position with a piracy rate of 90%. Read the BSA press release on the global study Download the study from the BSA site

Africa is the world’s hotbed of illegal software activities, reports Business Day, with 80% of all software used on the continent being either counterfeit or not legitimately licensed. In South Africa, software piracy is on the rise. In the latest report, 37% of all business software is being used illegally, up by 1% from 2003. This is despite national publicity campaigns and legal threats made against companies breaking the law. The BSA claim that lost taxes and lost licence fees due to piracy costs software companies and African economies more than $1bn. Full Business Day report

Britain’s piracy rate has dropped by 2%, with 27% of software in use in the UK being pirated, but Siobhan Carroll, of the BSA, said that the piracy rate was still ‘unacceptably high’. The BSA has called on the Labour Government to fulfil its manifesto pledge to ‘modernise copyright and other forms of protection of intellectual property rights so that they are appropriate for the digital age’. In particular, Out-Law.com reports, the BSA urged the Government to use its forthcoming presidency of the EU to implement the controversial Enforcement Directive in the UK and set a standard to other members of the EU, many of which have an even higher piracy rate than the UK. Full Out-Law.com report