Davey Winder
Tuesday, 12 May 2009 15:59
IT Industry -
Development
Ever wondered just how much the abuse of intellectual property rights is costing the software business in real money?
OK, let's forget the spin put on the piracy problem by the usual
industry suspects. By which I mean the suggestion that the true cost of
piracy is that it
helps fund terrorists.
That is just silly nonsense, FUD designed to
confuse rather than clarify what has become a growing problem.
You can also put to one side thoughts of how much money
the Pirate Bay owners have been fined, whether they are going to pay it or not. That is just another distraction.
Look, truth be told, most everyone is guilty of software piracy to some
degree. Ever used a free application for your business when the license
actually says 'non-commercial use only' or maybe installed some
software on more than the one machine your license actually covers?
No harm done after all, your little bit of piracy isn't costing anyone
anything really, right? Wrong, according to new figures released by the
Business Software Alliance. It puts the true cost of software piracy in
the UK alone at some UKP £1.49 billion in 2008.
What's more, the BSA reckons that overall piracy levels in the UK have
reached a point where last year some 27 percent of all software in the
market was actually illegal. A 1 percent increase from the 2007 figures.
A BSA spokesperson
says
that "more needs to be done by the industry and the government to warn
businesses and consumers of the risks associated with under-licensed
software, from a legal, financial and operational point of view."
Of course, the industry spin machine is never far away from piracy
statistics, and this is evident when you get the British Chamber of
Commerce suggesting that employment figures could be impacted unless
greater copyright protection is put in place.
Meanwhile, the BSA calls upon the British Government to support what it
calls a 'light regulatory approach' to piracy and bring in a code of
practise to be agreed between rights holders and ISPs. It also suggests
working towards improved education and awareness of the issues
surrounding piracy.