UK piracy rate on upward spiral

Joint IDC and Business Software Alliance study reveals one in four software installations are still illegal

The UK piracy rate rose to 27 per cent over the past year, according to the latest joint study by IDC and the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

This equates to a loss of £1.49bn to the UK economy in 2008, which IDC claimed was the highest level ever recorded.

On a global basis, the UK was one of just 16 countries that saw its piracy rate increase, but 57 countries saw their rate actually decrease and 36 per cent saw their rate stay the same.

The global piracy rate grew to 41 per cent in 2008, compared with 38 per cent in 2007, with the total loss to piracy increasing 11 per cent to $53bn.

In Europe, the highest piracy countries included Georgia (95 per cent), Armenia (92 per cent) and Azerbaijan (90 per cent). The lowest rates included Luxembourg (21 per cent) and Austria (24 per cent).

The US had the lowest piracy rate globally at 21 per cent, but incurred the highest losses due to the sheer size of the market, IDC claimed.

Alyna Cope, a representative for the BSA UK country committee, said: “With one in four software installations categorised as illegal in the UK, we cannot afford to give up the fight against software piracy.

“Much more needs to be done by the industry and government to warn businesses and consumers of the risks associated with under-licensed software. The government must also warn businesses and consumers of the risks associated with under-licensed software from a legal, financial and operational point of view,” said Cope.