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Study Finds Canadian Software Piracy Rates Largely Unchanged in Five Years
(Canada Newswire English Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Attention News Editors
BSA Urges Stronger Copyright Legislation To Reduce Impact of Piracy on
Canadian Economy
TORONTO, May 14 /CNW/ - The Business Software Alliance (BSA) today announced that Canada's PC software piracy rate decreased one percentage point from 34 per cent to 33 per cent in 2007. While Canada remains among the top 20 countries with the lowest software piracy rates globally, the average piracy rate has remained above 33 per cent since 2003, and continues to lag behind the United States, where the rate decreased one percentage point to 20?per?cent. Losses to the Canadian economy due to software piracy increased from $784 million to $1.07 billion.
The fifth annual study, conducted by global market research and forecasting firm IDC and released by BSA worldwide, shows the global piracy rate increased from 35 per cent to 38 per cent in 2007, with losses increasing from $39 billion to $48 billion.
"While it's encouraging to see a slight decrease in Canada's software piracy rate, the fact that it has not changed significantly over the past five years indicates there is more work to be done," said Michael Murphy, Chairman of the BSA Canada Committee. "Stricter laws and penalties in other countries including the U.S. have proven effective in helping curb software piracy. If we want to reduce piracy in Canada and its impact on the country's IT industry, copyright reform legislation is long overdue."
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Key global findings from the study include:
- Among the 108 countries studied, PC software piracy dropped in sixty-
four countries, and increased in only eleven. However, because the
worldwide PC market grew fastest in high-piracy countries, the
worldwide piracy rate increased by three percentage points to 38% in
2007.
- Among the larger emerging economies, Russia's piracy rate dropped a
remarkable seven percentage points to 73% from 2006 to 2007. The
reduction is the result of legalization programs by vendors,
enforcement and education by the government and anti-piracy groups,
agreements between vendors and local distributors to bundle legal
software with hardware.
- Lower piracy regions and markets like Japan, North America, and
Western Europe have among the highest dollar losses. These markets
are so large that piracy at relatively low levels can generate
significant losses.
- Since the size of the PC market grew significantly in 2007 and the
value of the US dollar dropped nearly seven percent against other
currencies, global losses from piracy rose by $8.5 billion to
$48.2 billion worldwide.
- Globally, businesses and consumers will spend nearly $400 billion on
PC software over the next four years, according to IDC estimates.
Assuming piracy rates do not change during this period, more than
$225 billion worth of software will be pirated.
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"This study shows that government and industry anti-piracy efforts are delivering software piracy reductions in many countries; however, rapid PC growth in higher-piracy emerging markets translates into an overall increase in global piracy," said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. "We expect this trend to continue, meaning industry and government must increasingly focus their efforts on combating piracy in these emerging economies."
A BSA economic impact study released in January found that reducing software piracy in Canada over the next four years by 10 percentage points could contribute $2.7 billion to the economy, generate more than 5,200 high-paying jobs and add $875 million in additional tax revenues for federal, regional and local governments by 2011.
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BSA advocates a five-point "blueprint" for reducing software piracy and
reaping the economic benefits:
- Increase public education and awareness of the value of intellectual
property and the risks of using unlicensed software;
- Update national copyright laws to implement World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) obligations in order to enable better
and more effective enforcement against digital and online piracy;
- Create strong enforcement mechanisms as required by the World Trade
Organization (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights Agreement (TRIPS), including tough anti-piracy laws;
- Dedicate significant government resources to the problem, including
national IP enforcement units, cross-border cooperation, and training
for local officers and judiciary officials; and
- Lead by example by implementing software management policies and
requiring the public sector to use only legitimate software.
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Study Methodology
The BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Study covers piracy of all packaged software that runs on personal computers, including desktops, laptops, and ultra-portables. The study does not include other types of software such as server- or mainframe-based software. IDC used proprietary statistics for software and hardware shipments and enlisted IDC analysts in more than sixty countries to confirm software piracy trends.
For more details or a copy of the complete study, visit www.bsa.org/globalstudy.
About BSA
The Business Software Alliance, formerly known in Canada as the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft, 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 the fastest growing industry in the world. Working with its partners in Canada and other countries worldwide, BSA educates consumers on software management and copyright protection, cyber security, trade, e-commerce and other Internet-related issues. BSA member companies in Canada include Adobe Systems, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, CNC Software/Mastercam, Microsoft, Mindjet, McAfee, Monotype Imaging, PTC, Siemens PLM, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, and The MathWorks.
Company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
About IDC
IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 44 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.
Melita Vega, Hill & Knowlton Canada, melita.vega@hillandknowlton.ca, (416) 413-4743; Megan Ramsay, Hill & Knowlton Canada, megan.ramsay@hillandknowlton.ca, (416) 413-1218 ext. 4505
Copyright ? 2008 Canada Newswire Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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