According to the Business Software Alliance, if you use a PC, there’s a pretty good chance you’re a no good, dirty pirate. In its 9th annual survey of PC users, the BSA found that 57% of respondents admit to using illegally downloaded or copied software.
Software, they say, that’s lost the industry as much as $63.4 billion.
BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman had this to say:
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.
I don’t know. The issue of software piracy is a tricky one. Many will maintain that it’s not really theft, as the original is never lost and it’s more a case of duplication. Others will argue that a copy of something can;t be seen as a lost sale, because it’s likely the offender would never have bought it anyway. Maybe those arguments are justified – but the fact is that according to the law, it’s illegal and tantamount to theft.
Unsurprisingly software piracy seems to be a bigger problem in developing countries, like China. According to the report 68 percent of users in developing territories admit pirating software, versus just 24 percent in developed nations. Equally unsurprising is that the majority of software pirates are “disproportionately young and male”.
Are you part of the 57%?
