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PC Software Piracy is a $53 Billion Global Problem, Affecting US Jobs, Security, Innovation, Tax Revenues
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) today applauded the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus as they released their 2009 “watch list” on Capitol Hill. The watch list, released annually since 2003, lists countries where piracy of US copyrighted goods is extremely high and in need of government action. Congressional caucus members were joined at the briefing by BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman and leaders of the music, film, and electronic games industries. “The caucus watch list shines a light on the fact that PC software piracy remains a serious problem in all countries, especially in emerging markets, but also in mature markets like the United States,” said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman. “Our new Global Software Piracy Report shows that the global value of pirated PC software in 2008 was an estimated $53 billion, making it a serious drain on our industry’s ability to invest in new jobs and new solutions. At a time of economic difficulties, we cannot afford to turn our backs on American inventors and creative artists.
“We applaud the Anti-Piracy Caucus for its longstanding leadership on protecting intellectual property, and we urge its members to continue to press for strong enforcement of existing laws, both at home and abroad. We also look forward to a strong role for the first-ever White House IP enforcement coordinator, whom President Obama is expected to appoint soon.”
Software piracy affects much more than just the global software industry. For every $1 of software sold in a country, there is another $3 to $4 of revenues for local IT service and distribution firms. A January 2008 study on the economic benefits of reducing software piracy predicted that lowering PC software piracy by 10 points over four years would create 600,000 additional new jobs worldwide.
Software piracy also lowers tax revenues at a time of increased fiscal pressures on governments worldwide. According to the Global Software Piracy Report, reducing piracy by 10 points would generate $24 billion in higher government revenues without a tax increase. Studies also show that pirated PC software often comes with security risks such as embedded “malware” that enables identity theft.
Editor’s Notes: BSA released its annual BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Report last week, estimating PC software piracy rates and dollar losses in 110 countries. The six-year study shows that anti-piracy programs are working in more than half of all countries, but an “emerging market effect” is driving up global losses as PC sales are growing fastest in nations with high piracy rates. See www.bsa.org/globalstudy.
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. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, CA, Cadence, Cisco Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Embarcadero, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, SAP, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, and The MathWorks.
Amos Sneadmedia@bsa.org202-346-8831
United States
