Sales of illegal software last year hit US $63.4billion. Was it YOU?

Some placed where
software copyright
is infringed

To accept the licence terms,
press "paws"

This Kat is aware that many other people use unauthorised software, however she was not aware of the numbers involved until she read the Business Software Alliance 9th annual Global Software Piracy Study. The Study found that, globally, 57% of personal computers use illegal software. The commercial value of this software in 2011 was US $63.4 billion (up from US $58.8 billion in 2010). This increase was due to emerging economies extending their share in the global PC market: emerging economies took 56% of last year's PC shipments and emerging economies have a high rate of illegal software use (68% in emerging economies as opposed to 24% in developed economies).

According to the BSA press release other key findings were:

• There is strong global support for IP rights and protection in principle, but a troubling lack of incentive for pirates to change their behaviour in practice. Just 20% of frequent pirates in mature markets — and 15% in emerging markets — say the risk of getting caught is a reason not to do it.
  
• The most frequent software pirates are disproportionately young and male — and they are more than twice as likely to live in an emerging economy as they are to live in a mature one (38% to 15%).
  
• The most frequent software pirates also are the most voracious software users. They report installing 55% more software on their computers than do non-pirates. This gives them an outsized impact on the global piracy rate.
  
• Business decision-makers admit to pirating software more frequently than other users — and they are more than twice as likely as others to say they buy software for one computer and then install it on additional machines in their offices.  
  
• By its sheer scale, China has the most troubling piracy problem. China’s illegal software market was worth nearly US $9 billion in 2011 versus a legal market of less than $3 billion, making its piracy rate 77%. Moreover, buyers in China spend just $8.89 per PC on legal software, less than a quarter of the amount buyers spend in other BRIC markets.

In response to these findings, BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman stated:

'If 57 percent of consumers admitted they shoplift, authorities would react by increasing police patrols and penalties. Software piracy demands a similarly forceful response — concerted public education and vigorous law enforcement'.

The IPKat has been musing over the statement of Robert Holleyman that, "if 57 percent of consumers admitted they shoplift, authorities would react by increasing police patrols and penalties". That's true but, if the authorities did react in that fashion, consumers would soon stop admitting that they were shoplifting ...

Merpel says, it would be a very good thing if computer users respected software copyright -- but it would also be good if software companies did more to make themselves lovable.  Having twice been stung by having to pay automatic renewal fees for software which she had ceased using, and having also been frustrated at having to pay for bundled software that included loads of unwanted functionality as well as the bits she did want, she thinks she can understand why many consumers feel little sympathy towards software houses when faced with the opportunity not to enrich them further.