Industry commends Sri Lanka for biggest drop in PC software piracy in Asia Pacific

The commercial value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in the Asia Pacific region reached a record US$18.7 billion in 2010 as 60 percent of software deployed on personal computers (PCs) during the year was pirated, more than double the losses of US$7.5 billion in 2003.

In comparison, in 2009, 59 percent of the software installed on PCs in Asia Pacific was obtained illegally, while the value of pirated software amounted to over US$16.5 billion. These are among the findings of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) 2010 Global Software Piracy Study, which evaluates the state of software piracy around the world.

There was good news for Sri Lanka where, from 2009 to 2010, installations of unlicensed software on PCs in Sri Lanka fell by three percentage points, the highest drop recorded in Asia and the Pacific, bringing the rate down to 86% in 2010. However, the commercial value of pirated software rose to US$83 million from US$77 million against a backdrop of increased PC shipments for the year.

 “Despite the improvements recorded in most markets in the Asia Pacific region, these findings show that the fight against software piracy remains a critical issue and there is still much work still to be done. Both PC software piracy rates and the value of pirated software in Asia Pacific have risen compared to a year ago,” said Roland Chan, Senior Director - Marketing, Asia-Pacific, BSA.

“In Sri Lanka, the consistent efforts of the National Intellectual Property Office and the Information & Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), and their respective anti-piracy drive including policy initiatives, awareness, education and infrastructure have contributed towards lowering the piracy rate. The establishment of the Anti-Piracy & Counterfeit Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lanka Police has also played a pivotal role in curbing infringement of intellectual property rights. The improvements seen are a credit to the vision of President, Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Government of Sri Lanka”.

This is the eighth study of global software piracy to be conducted by BSA in partnership with IDC, the IT industry’s leading market research and forecasting firm, using a methodology that incorporates 182 discrete data inputs for 116 countries and regions around the world. This year’s study also includes a new dimension: a public-opinion survey of PC users on key social attitudes and behaviours related to software piracy, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.

The opinion survey found strong support for intellectual property rights, with seven in 10 respondents expressing support for paying inventors for their creations to promote more technology advances. Strikingly, support for intellectual property rights was strongest in markets with high piracy rates.

The survey also found widespread recognition that licensed software is better than pirated software, because it is understood to be more secure and more reliable. The problem is many PC users lack a clear understanding of whether common ways of acquiring software, such as buying a single programme licence for multiple computers or downloading a programme from a peer-to-peer network, are likely to be legal or illegal.

“Clearly, there is a strong appreciation for the value delivered by legal software,” said Chan. “The results reinforce the need to educate users that software downloaded from P2P networks is often illegal, and installing software purchased for one computer on multiple home or office PCs is piracy.”

Speaking on behalf of IDC, Victor Lim, Vice President, Asia/Pacific Consulting Operations, said, “Under-licensing – installing one single, legal copy of a programme on numerous computers – remains the biggest contributor to software piracy. This has broad implications beyond just the software sector, because software is a productivity tool in every sector of the economy. Companies that do not pay for the programmes they use to run their operations have, to an extent, an unfair cost advantage over companies that do, and this skews competition. IDC believes that it is imperative that governments take action, through education and enforcement mechanisms, to ensure that IP ownership and rights are properly respected, thus ensuring continued enhancements and development of business critical software and solutions.”

“Today’s study shows that while piracy continues to threaten the global economy, people clearly understand and appreciate the value of intellectual property, especially its role in driving economic growth,” added Robert Holleyman, BSA president and CEO. “Software theft continues to stifle IT innovation, job creation, and economic growth around the world. This report clearly shows the importance of educating businesses, government officials, and end users about the risks of software theft — and what they can do to stop it.”

The 2010 BSA Global Software Piracy Study covers piracy of all software that runs on PCs, including desktops, laptops, and ultra-portables, including netbooks. This includes operating systems, systems software, such as databases and security packages, and applications software, with legitimate free software and open source software covered by the scope of the study.

New this year, BSA retained Ipsos Public Affairs to survey more than 15,000 business and consumer PC users in order to provide more insight into key social attitudes and behaviours related to intellectual property and the use of licensed versus unlicensed software. The surveys were conducted, online or in-person, in 32 markets that make up a globally representative sample of geographies, levels of IT sophistication, and cultural diversity.

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the world’s foremost advocate for the software industry, working in 80 countries to expand software markets and create conditions for innovation and growth. Governments and industry partners look to BSA for thoughtful approaches to key policy and legal issues, recognising that software plays a critical role in driving economic and social progress in all nations. BSA’s member companies invest billions of dollars a year in local economies, good jobs, and next-generation solutions that will help people around the world be more productive, connected, and secure. BSA members include Adobe, Agilent Technologies, Apple, Aquafold, ARM, Arphic Technology, Autodesk, AVEVA, Bentley Systems, CNC/Mastercam, Corel, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Microsoft, Minitab, NedGraphics, Orbotech, PTC, Progress Software, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, Tekla, and The MathWorks.