Governments urged to man up after piracy rate remains static

UK software piracy rate falls fractionally to 26 per cent, while global rate stays at 42 per cent, according to BSA study

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has called on governments to toughen up on software piracy after the global, EU and UK rates remained virtually static for yet another year.

According to the anti-piracy body's ninth annual study of global software piracy, the UK software piracy rate fell by one per cent in 2011 to 26 per cent. That represents a commercial value of £1.2bn.

However, that percentage represents no improvement on 2007, when the UK rate stood at an identical 26 per cent, before inching up to 27 per cent in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Across the EU, the piracy rate improved from 35 per cent to 33 per cent, while the global figure was static on 42 per cent.

If 26 per cent sounds like a lot, spare a thought for software vendors plying their trade in MEA, Asia-Pac, Latin America and central and eastern Europe, where the software piracy rates stands at 58, 60, 61 and 62 per cent respectively. The figure is as high as 90 per cent in Moldova and Libya, according to IDC's estimates.

North America still represents the high bar with a rate of just 19 per cent.

This year's study was conducted in partnership with IDC and Ipsos Public Affairs, which carried out a global survey of 14,700 business and consumer PC users.

Some 27 per cent of the European PC users quizzed in the study said the "risk of getting caught" is a reason not to pirate software. This points to the need for improved intellectual property rights, enforcement and a stronger damages regime in Europe, the BSA argued.

For instance, in the UK it is possible for software infringers to purchase a licence for software after an infringement has been discovered, and avoid the payment of a penalty. This means software piracy is effectively risk-free, said the BSA.

"The EU's current damages rules provide an incentive to infringe and it is clear that these rules need to be revised," added Thomas Boué, BSA director of government affairs for Europe.

"EU policy makers are faced with a fundamental challenge to modernise the IPR enforcement framework and ensure that the remedies for IPR infringement across all member states act as a deterrent to future infringement."