According to the latest study released the software trade group, the Business Software Alliance, more than a third of the software installed on PCs worldwide during 2004 is pirated, with losses from unauthorized software increasing by $4 billion from 2003. The actual number is 35%, which is down 1% from the previous year. The study was put together for the BSA by the research firm IDC.
Estimated losses from software piracy climbed, however, from $29 billion to $33 billion, as both the legal and unauthorized software markets grew from 2003 to 2004. IDC estimated that $90 billion worth of software was installed in 2004, compared to $80 billion in 2003, with sales of legal software growing 6 percent.
Lest you think this is all attributable to US users, the countries using the most pirated software, according to IDC, are Vietnam, Ukraine, China, and Zimbabwe. Ninety percent or more of the software used in those countries was pirated during 2004, according to the BSA report. In more than half the 87 countries studied, software piracy exceeded 60 percent.
IDC estimated that 21 percent of software in the U.S. was pirated, compared to 23 percent in New Zealand, and 27 percent in the United Kingdom. Austria and Sweden were also among the countries with the lowest software piracy rates.
Frankly, I believe these numbers are a little high and that the results of the study are to be used for political purposes; ie: the White House and Congress putting heat on countries like China and the Ukraine. I also think the US numbers are a little inflated, although I know software piracy does occur on a regular basis. I have nothing to base my thoughts on except my knowledge of good, old fashioned hard ball politics.
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