SOFTWARE PIRACY STUDY FINDS THAT ASIA PACIFIC REGION ACCOUNTED FOR ALMOST US$8 BILLION IN LOSSES LAST YEAR
Fifty-three percent of the software installed on personal computers in the Asia Pacific was pirated in 2004, the same level as in 2003. However, losses due to software piracy increased from US$7.5 billion to almost US$8 billion.
These are among key findings of a global software piracy study released today by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the international association of the world's leading software developers. The independent study, which indicates that software piracy continues to be a major challenge worldwide, was conducted by global technology research leader IDC.
"Worldwide, one out of every three copies of software in use today has been obtained illegally," said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman. "These losses have a profound economic impact in countries around the world. Every copy of software used without proper licensing costs tax revenue, jobs, and growth opportunities for burgeoning software markets."
In 2004, the world spent more than $59 billion on commercial packaged PC software, up from $51 billion in 2003. However, over $90 billion was actually installed, up from $80 billion the year before.
Launching the Study in Singapore, Jeffrey Hardee, Vice President and Regional Director, Asia, said, "Software piracy remains a major concern for Asia Pacific countries. While many governments have taken steps to better protect intellectual property rights, much remains to be done in order for there to be substantial reduction in software piracy levels. The software industry is a proven engine for growth. Strong resolve in ensuring IP protection is essential if countries in the region are to see continued innovation and investment."
The study finds that software piracy rates in Asia Pacific range from a high of 92 percent in Vietnam to a low of 23 percent in New Zealand. The Asia Pacific region has the fourth highest average piracy rate and three of the world's top five pirating countries are in the region.
Commenting on the Study findings for Thailand, Nicholas Ware, Chair of the BSA Thailand Committee, said, ""The decline of 1% in the software piracy rate in Thailand to 79% can be attributed to the collaboration between private and public sectors in the fight against software piracy. Piracy hurts the Thai economy it is a serious threat to legitimate jobs in the IT sector and it does not make any tax revenue contributions to the government. The revenue losses attributed to the piracy rate amount to US$183 million. While we are disappointed that software piracy levels have yet to drop significantly in Thailand, we are heartened by the efforts shown by the government to protect and enforce IP rights. It will be a long battle, but we are confident that with greater government involvement we will make headway against software piracy."
"This year we are expanding our educational efforts by partnering with influential organizations such as The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). We hope that with the roll out of our "Get SAM Get Compliant" outreach program, it will encourage businesses to take serious consideration of the need to respect the copyright laws when it comes to software usage," added Ware.
The study also finds that online piracy poses a major threat to countries. Without strong copyright laws and enforcement of those laws, online piracy via "warez" groups, spam, auction sites and P2P systems will proliferate alongside Internet usage. During 2004, an additional 44 million people began using the Internet in the Asia Pacific region. The fastest growing Internet populations are those in emerging countries; China alone will add 100 million new Internet users over the next four years.
Additionally, online piracy is also facilitated by increases in broadband penetration, since this enables users to send and download more quickly larger files such as software programs. According to IDC estimates, in 2004 more than 7.5 million more households in Asia Pacific gained broadband access, expanding the total number of broadband-enabled households to over 33 million.
Although piracy rates decreased in 37 countries, they increased in 34 countries. They remained consistent in 16 countries.
In more than half the 87 countries studied, the piracy rate exceeded 60 percent. In 24 countries, the piracy rate exceeded 75 percent.
The countries with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam (92 percent), Ukraine (91 percent), China (90 percent), Zimbabwe (90 percent) and Indonesia (87 percent).
The countries with the lowest piracy rates were the United States (21 percent), New Zealand (23 percent), Austria (25 percent), Sweden (26 percent), and United Kingdom (27 percent).
"Piracy is still most prevalent in countries and regions where the software market is growing as personal computing becomes more integral to work and daily life," said Martin Kralik, Associate Director, Asia-Pacific Consulting, IDC. "However, we have learned from places such as Taiwan that adopting policies to protect intellectual property is key to curbing piracy."
"Once a high-piracy locale, Taiwan has managed to drive software piracy levels down significantly, with the government sending a strong message that it would not tolerate software piracy while at the same time working with the industry to launch educational campaigns. The Taiwan government also put in place a regulatory regime to help prevent optical piracy, and has raided software piracy rings that were profiting from illegal software," said Kralik.
"The BSA is committed to education programs, policy initiatives and enforcement efforts that have an impact on the piracy problem. The continued influx of new users in Asia Pacific, and the increased availability of pirated software through the Internet and P2P networks, underscores that continued education is a must," said Hardee. "BSA will continue its efforts to stem the growth of piracy and thus stimulate local economies, create jobs, generate tax revenue, and encourage investment in technological innovation for the future."
IDC used proprietary statistics for software and hardware shipments, conducted more than 7,000 interviews in 23 countries, and enlisted IDC analysts in over 50 countries to review local market conditions.
About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, CNC Software/Mastercam, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, MathWorks, McAfee, Microsoft, PTC, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, UGS and VERITAS Software.