Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | C | Computer Security Update

FIFTH OF PC SOFTWARE IN U.S. PIRATED.

Article Excerpt
Governments and software companies are making progress in slowing the illegal use of personal computer (PC) software products, but progress has stalled in the United States, posing serious challenges to the high tech sector and cyber security.

These are among the findings of the Sixth Annual BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Study released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA). The study was conducted by IDC, the information technology (IT) industry's leading global market research and forecasting firm.

In 2008, the rate of PC software piracy dropped in about half (57) of the 110 countries studied, remained the same in about a third (36), and rose in just 16.(1) The worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second year in a row, from 38 percent to 41 percent, because PC shipments grew fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India, overwhelming progress elsewhere.

In another sign of the scale of the problem, the monetary value of unlicensed software -- "losses" to software companies -- broke the $50 billion level for the first time. Worldwide losses grew by 11 percent to $53.0 billion in non-adjusted dollars, although half of that...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!