Cutting software piracy can boost economies and create jobs.
Countries in Western Europe could create a million jobs and boost the value of their technology sectors by £250 billion if they cut piracy rates by ten points by 2006, claims a study.
The research, carried out for the BSA anti-piracy group, revealed that piracy is stunting the growth of software firms worldwide.
The BSA (Business Software Alliance) estimates that almost 40% of all software being used around the world is pirated.
Countries in Western Europe could create a million jobs and boost the value of their technology sectors by £250 billion if they cut piracy rates by ten points by 2006, claims a study.
The research, carried out for the BSA anti-piracy group, revealed that piracy is stunting the growth of software firms worldwide.
The BSA (Business Software Alliance) estimates that almost 40% of all software being used around the world is pirated.
Hidden cost
The research looked at the effects of piracy in countries that together account for 98% of the world's technology economy.
The study was drawn up by analyst firm IDC and found that countries enforcing anti-piracy laws tend to have larger and more creative technology sectors.
"Strong intellectual property protections spur creativity, which opens new opportunities for businesses, governments and workers," said Beth Scott, European vice-president of the BSA.
Countries could boost the size of their software sectors by doing a better job of stopping people making counterfeit copies of commercial software and catching pirates, said the report.
The report put a value on Britain's technology sector, which includes software and hardware makers as well as associated services, of £37.5bn but said this could grow to £54.4bn by 2007 if piracy rates were slashed to 15% from their currently 25% rate.
The growth of the technology industry would contribute £10bn to the growth of the UK economy as a whole, add £2.5bn to tax revenues and create up to 40,000 jobs.
France's tech sector could grow by 50% in four years if it too managed to cut ten points off its current 46% rate of piracy.
Cutting piracy by ten points globally could add 1% to world economic growth.
The report authors said such cuts in piracy were feasible because almost two-thirds of the 57 countries covered in the study had already managed to reduce piracy by ten points since 1996.
The research looked at the effects of piracy in countries that together account for 98% of the world's technology economy.
The study was drawn up by analyst firm IDC and found that countries enforcing anti-piracy laws tend to have larger and more creative technology sectors.
"Strong intellectual property protections spur creativity, which opens new opportunities for businesses, governments and workers," said Beth Scott, European vice-president of the BSA.
Countries could boost the size of their software sectors by doing a better job of stopping people making counterfeit copies of commercial software and catching pirates, said the report.
The report put a value on Britain's technology sector, which includes software and hardware makers as well as associated services, of £37.5bn but said this could grow to £54.4bn by 2007 if piracy rates were slashed to 15% from their currently 25% rate.
The growth of the technology industry would contribute £10bn to the growth of the UK economy as a whole, add £2.5bn to tax revenues and create up to 40,000 jobs.
France's tech sector could grow by 50% in four years if it too managed to cut ten points off its current 46% rate of piracy.
Cutting piracy by ten points globally could add 1% to world economic growth.
The report authors said such cuts in piracy were feasible because almost two-thirds of the 57 countries covered in the study had already managed to reduce piracy by ten points since 1996.
I’m confident, the rate of software piracy is rising around the world. The increase in piracy is due largely to higher PC shipments and sales, especially in emerging markets such as Brazil, India, and China is one of the biggest markets for pirated software. I believe software piracy doesn't just take profits away from the industry but also has a potential effect on the economy. In fact, piracy means lost revenue, Obviously, Software theft hurts not just software companies, but also the broader economy at the local, regional, and also global levels by cutting out service and distribution firms. I think in order to prevent piracy Software companies should offer extra value and services to users of legal software and restrict those from people who use unlicensed products.
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