Software piracy came down for the first time in 2009

The recent global software piracy report stated that in

India PC software piracy came down by 3% in 2009 while globally theres a rise

from 41 to 43%. What are the key reasons for this shift?



In 2009, India for the first time made a significant progress in bringing

down the piracy rates. However, our annual commercial value of unlicensed

software still stands at a whopping $2.03 bn.

Globally, factors driving piracy rates up included rapid

growth of the emerging consumer PC markets like India, Brazil and China, and a

greater activity in the installed base of computers older than 2009 where

unlicensed software is more prevalent. In 2009, these three markets together

accounted for 86% of PC shipments growth, thus increasing the overall average

piracy rate globally. Additionally, the increasing sophistication of software

pirates and cyber criminals especially those using the Internet to supply

illegal software, also caused an increase in the availability of pirated/illegal

software.

Forces driving piracy down in India include vendor

legalization programs, government and industry education campaigns, enforcement

actions, and technology shifts, such as the increased deployment of Digital

Rights Management (DRM) and greater use of ISO 19770:1 standardSoftware Asset

Management (SAM) to address under-licensing issues in the work place.

What are the key factors responsible for software

piracy and its widespread expansion globally?



Piracy causes serious harm to everyone, from users to manufacturers to

governments. Key factors which drive software piracy are: general lack of

awareness and education about Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the public

at large; lack of understanding and respect for IPRs specifically in software;

software piracy not seen as a serious crime; lack of awareness around the

threats and risks from using pirated software; companies and organizations

lacking robust IT Policy and procurement environment to procure, deploy, use,

manage, monitor and retire software licenses as assets.

Has the Internet helped in the spread of software

piracy?



We do know that Internet is increasing software theft. The growth of fast

broadband and P2P networking, especially in emerging markets, has made it easier

to pirate software. Unknown to people in general, usage of pirated software

increases serious threats and risks of cyber crime and computer security. With

the explosion of Internet usage, the cyber crimes have increased dramatically.

Pankaj Maru/CMN



maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in