High rates of software pirating in the EU, finds survey
Reacting to a new study that reveals that 37 per cent of all business software used in the EU in 2003 was pirated, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has called on EU governments to take action in a number of key areas. The study, carried out by market analysts IDC, has valued the cost to European software publishers at over eight billion euro. BSA has responded to the report by publishing a strategic five-point plan which includes boosting respect for intellectual property; increasing the confidence of industry to promote research and development (R&D) and stimulate the investment and growth of the European digital economy; enhancing security and encouraging the development of the European Network and Information Security Agency; encouraging growth and innovation; and supporting improved Software Asset Management (SAM) practices as a fundamental business asset. In turn, stated BSA, national governments must implement the EU enforcement and copyright Directives, as well as help to promote digital rights management (DRM) in Europe. 'The results confirm that software piracy continues to be a major challenge in the European Union with IDC indicating the problem is getting worse,' said BSA in a statement. Beth Scott, vice president for BSA in Europe added: 'Unfortunately, this demonstrates the region is failing to capitalise on the benefits that even a ten percent reduction in software piracy could bring by 2006 - including over 250,000 new jobs and in excess of 18 billion euro in tax revenues.' The highest rates of piracy are in Greece, with 63 percent, followed by Poland and Lithuania (58 per cent), Latvia (57 per cent) and Estonia (54 per cent). France, Spain and Italy also have high rates of piracy with 44, 45 and 49 per cent respectively. The lowest rates are in Denmark (26 per cent), followed by Austria and Sweden (27 per cent) Explaining the impact of piracy on software entrepreneurs in France, Dominique Pouliquen, head of a leading developer of 3D graphics software applications, Realviz, said: 'Without piracy we could increase revenue by 30-50 per cent; at the very least this would mean that we would be able to hire seven to ten additional staff and there would be fresh funds available for investment in R&D [research and development].' In the UK, IDC revealed a software piracy rate of 29 per cent, with the cost of pirated software totalling 1.6 billion euro. 'These figures show that the sale and use of illegal software continues to be a major challenge for the UK government and software industry and, with the growth of the internet, this looks set to become an even tougher challenge,' said Janet Anderson, chair of the all-party Parliamentary Group on intellectual property protection in the UK. 'This problem is hampering innovation in the software industry. A reduction in software piracy could also benefit UK citizens through increased tax revenues. We are committed to working with the UK software industry to tackle this problem through both effective education and improved legislation.' On the subject of how to tackle this issue, Ms Scott said: 'Our five point action plan can only succeed with the support of EU governments. Real improvements can only be effected by significant changes in the legislative environment and public support, at all levels, for intellectual property and creative industries.' For this reason, BSA has called on EU governments to implement both the EU enforcement directive and the copyright directive. Furthermore: 'BSA urges governments to take action against the obstacles which prevent the uptake of Digital Rights Management (DRM) in the region. Copyright levies on digital media and equipment and lack of a community-wide licensing framework are holding back this innovative solution which helps tackle the piracy problem head-on.'
Kraje
Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom