Déjà vu for software piracy rate

Annual BSA and IDC numbers reveal UK piracy rate is frozen on 27 per cent for a third year

UK and global software piracy rates failed to improve much, if at all, in 2010, according to the latest figures from IDC and the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

According to the duo's 2010 Global Software Piracy Study, the installation of unlicensed software on UK PCs remained at 27 per cent in 2010.

That is the same rate as 2009 and 2008, as well as 2006.

Piracy rates across the EU as a whole held still at 35 per cent, while the global average fell fractionally from 43 to 42 per cent.

The report found unlicensed software with a commercial value of $1.85bn (£1.2bn) was installed in the UK in 2010, compared with $1.581bn a year earlier.

On a global level, the commercial value of PC software piracy leapt 14 per cent to £38bn and the BSA said that figure has nearly doubled in real terms since 2003.

BSA chief executive Robert Holleyman said: "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."