Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Study shows software piracy declining in many countries

Among those showing improvement is the US
Page:

The results from the Business Software Alliance's fifth-annual study on global software piracy revealed some statistics that would put a smile on any software company executive's face: Of the 108 countries that are covered in the recently released report, the use of pirated software dropped in 67 countries. In just eight countries did the piracy rate increase.

For example, Russia's PC software piracy rate dropped seven points to 73 per cent. (In the study, piracy rate is defined as the total number of units of pirated software deployed in 2007 divided by the total units of software installed.) "Russia's piracy rate is still high, but it is decreasing at a fast pace as a result of [software] legalization programs, government engagement and enforcement, user education and an improved economy," states the BSA study's findings. (A copy of the ].)

Many low-piracy regions, such as the United States, United Kingdom and Austria, showed decreases (though they weren't huge) in their piracy rates. The three lowest-piracy countries were the United States (20 per cent), Luxembourg (21 per cent) and New Zealand (22 per cent). The study also found that many developed economies continued to show gradual declines, including Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden and Taiwan.

PC Software Piracy Rankings, 2007

The Business Software Alliance ranks the countries where software piracy is the worst for PC software vendors, and those where conditions are best.

The worst:

  • 1. Armenia
  • 2. Bangladesh
  • 3. Azerbaijan
  • 4. Moldova
  • 5. Zimbabwe
  • 6. Sri Lanka
  • 7. Yemen
  • 8. Libya
  • 9. Venezuela
  • 10. Vietnam

The best:

  • 1. US
  • 2. Luxembourg
  • 3. New Zealand
  • 4. Japan
  • 5. Austria
  • 6. Belgium
  • 7. Denmark
  • 8. Finland
  • 9. Sweden
  • 10. Switzerland

Market research company IDC conducted the study on behalf of the BSA, an international association that represents software vendors and their hardware partners, and pursues companies that use pirated software. The BSA's "Report Software Piracy Now" campaign, which promises up to US$1 million reward for "qualifying reports," is one way in which it goes after corporate offenders.

Page:

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Billion, BSA, Business Software Alliance, IDC, Rose

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Becoming a Social Business
    As global business accelerates ever faster and companies work to quickly respond to customer demands, competitive threats and rapidly evolving trends, the richness and efficiency of social collaboration plays a key role in enabling future success. The challenge then is finding the best approach. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • Business Process Management, Service-Oriented Architecture, and Web 2.0: Business Transformation or Train Wreck?
    As a result of more and more organisations adopting new technologies and business practices surrounding BPM, SOA, and Web 2.0, fundamental changes have arisen in the way IT and business stakeholders work together. Make this into an opportunity - read on.
    Learn more »
  • Protecting Against the Leading Causes of Data Breach
    This whitepaper was written for the organisation that wants to focus on prevention of data loss and doesn’t have millions to spend, but needs affordable solutions that can be implemented today to protect millions of sensitive records and dollars worth of intellectual property. This whitepaper addresses: - What organisations can do to prevent the four leading causes of data breaches - Why dedicated (pure-play) DLP solutions may not protect you from all four leading causes of data breaches - How to get prevent sensitive data leaving your organisation
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.