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Study shows effects of software piracy reduction on UK and world economies

According to a study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) a 10% reduction of software piracy would result in 34,000 new jobs, £11bn of economic growth and a £2.8bn increase in tax revenues in the UK alone. The study, which was carried out by International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that the UK has a relatively low piracy rate of about 27%. A growth of 30% is expected in the UK IT sector through 2009, but a 10% piracy reduction apparently would increase that to a 37% growth.

There are 64,296 business in the IT sector, employing 534,718, contributing £25.9bn in tax revenues and the whole UK IT sector is valued at £39.8bn. However the IDC claims the 10% reduction in software piracy would boost this value to £54.5bn, create 33,874 high paying IT jobs and an addition £2.8bn in tax revenues. "The software industry has a key role in the UK economy and acts as a catalyst for productivity and growth," said Janet Anderson MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Intellectual Property Protection. "Piracy stifles innovation and creativity and clearly has a significant impact on employment, economic growth and public spending."



The global piracy rate is about 35%. A 10% reduction in that rate would spur the global IT industry to grow 45% larger by 2009, creating another 2.4 million jobs, economies could grow by $400bn and $67bn in tax revenues could be created. The study recommends nations update copyright laws so they implement World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) obligations, create strong enforcement mechanisms, dedicate government resources to piracy, improve education and awareness and only use legitimate software in the public sector.

Source:
The Register

Written by: James Delahunty @ 8 Dec 2005 11:35

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• 23 comments

• McKeva

  Lucky for me then that I live in the UK and plan to go into the IT sector

  8.12.2005 12:10 #1

• dubire

  These company build piracy into the cost of there software all they are looking for is more more more money
  According to a $tudy commi$$ioned by the bu$ine$$ $oftware alliance B$a .....................

  8.12.2005 22:41 #2

• runner121

  yes,but it's those jobless people that can't afford thier software.

  9.12.2005 03:25 #3

• runner121

  And maybe George Bush would like to personally wish
  all of the people who's jobs have been out-sourced this year a Merry X-Mas!

  9.12.2005 03:27 #4

• byteback

  15 years ago I got my first PC, a 386, why because I had friend I could “borrow” software from, If I could not “borrow” Id never have purchased a PC 15 years on and many thousand of £’s spent on software (I own 3 laptop & 3 PC’s with OEM XP installed weather I wanted it or not) I now give free IT support to several charities apart from my regular work with small business. None of these use pirate software, it’s to risky, remember FACT offering £2000 to employees to shop their bosses! They all buy MS Office at hundreds of £’s, why there staff have nearly all learnt it because of the availability of “Borrowed” at home. On the contrary to software Piracy being harmful and costing the industry, casual piracy has helped the industry grow, train staff and be profitable. Hell most PC professionals learned there trade on “Borrowed” software. Don’t get me wrong, When people steal other peoples work to make financial gain out of it, its wrong, when I person uses software as a tool or recourse to profit from it they should pay for it. Commercial Piracy does hurt the industry, but when a person only wants to do a bit of work at home, do a bit of free community work or try something that they would never normally try or buy then this low scale borrowing of software can benefit the industry, it’s why MS office as become the standard Office software.

  9.12.2005 05:47 #5

• DaOsT

  oohh I totally agree anyone that makes money from selling software is wrong .....I give the software I acquire for free to ppl that can only afford second hand computers at best
  
  is it wrong most likely but otherwise they would have nothing
  

  ::LivE ForeveR OR DiE TryiN!!::....::DonT FinD US WE WilL FinD YoU::..
  ChecK OuT ThE PenguiN GamE AnD PosT YouR HighesT DistancE ON ThE ForuM
  http://www.gazholland.co.uk

  9.12.2005 06:57 #6

• byteback

  nothing wrong with that, its people selling pirated stuff that does the real damadge, like I said small scale at home use of "borrowed" software helps the industary. i.e. your'e working, you get acess to a PC and "free" software lern a bit, get a job, your employer buys the software you leaned, you get some money, buy a new PC Bill Gates gets his cut from the OEM everyone profits!

  9.12.2005 07:10 #7

• byteback

  what I ment to say was
  
  nothing wrong with that, its people selling pirated stuff that does the real damadge, like I said small scale at home use of "borrowed" software helps the industary. i.e. your'e NOT working, you get acess to a PC and "free" software learn a bit, get a job, your employer buys the software you leaned, you get some money, buy a new PC Bill Gates gets his cut from the OEM everyone profits!
  
  sorry I missed the word not!

  9.12.2005 07:14 #8

• snige

  I've always said this about priracy and shoplifting etc. If it all stoppped tomorrow, then would we really get cheaper goods? I think not. A friend works at UPS and Apple use them to ship Nanos etc. Loads go missing and when UPS contact Apple about them the reply they get is 'oh well'. That to me means that there is huge profit in them and so it would take a big man to sugest to reduce the price if there was no piracy. I assume this could be said for Films and CD's

  9.12.2005 08:30 #9

• duckNrun

  I always love to read about profit projections that are extrapolated from a non-customer base (lol). The fact of the matter is that if someone was going to actually BUY the product chances are they would not acquire an ILLEGAL pirated copy of said product. Now it's true that some people are just greedy, self centered bastards and have decided why pay if they can steal it, and so for those type of people MAYBE they would begin to buy instead of going without. But I believe that most people are honest and law abiding. I think that most of these so called profits will never materialize even with a 90% reduction in piracy. I believe that the "consumer pirate" uses illegal products either because they can't or won't pay for the product. In either case if their piracy was to end the sale still would not happen.
  
  Now, I am not justifying piracy. The whole concept of buying a product revolves around the fact that the use of the product is incentive to buy it and if you are not going to buy it then you have no right to it... regardless of your ability or desire to pay for it.
  
  But I am so sick of these statements about how much money is being lost by these companies. Thats like me saying that if something were to happen to Brad Pitt then Angelina Jolie would be sleeping in my bed instead. Just like the 'lost profits' of consumer piracy (as opposed to piracy rings) it ain't gonna happen!
  
  lol
  
  sidenote: Angelina, if by any chance I am not correct then PLEASE PM me! :-)

  9.12.2005 09:41 #10

• philter

  I used to run a "borrowed" version of a popular music sequencer now I run a music Production college with 20+ computers running this stuff.
  
  If when i was 16 the warez wernt available there would be no college or 20+ licences. students and kids need a beeter deal from software companys in terms of helping them get into an area of interest. especialy creative arts where parents arnt as willing to spend £500 on some new software they have no clue about.
  
  I work a lot with comunity centers and disadvantaged kids trying to get them interested in stuff other than hanging out on street corners drinking or taking drugs.
  
  Software companys or the government education boards should help more and stop making kids who want to learn into criminals by forcing the to download pirated software.

  9.12.2005 10:08 #11

• byteback

  in reply to
  "I used to run a "borrowed" version of a popular music sequencer now I run a music Production college with 20+ computers running this stuff."
  
  hear! hear! That hits the nail right on the head. Companies should look at the advantages that can be accrrued, not be small minded. Sometime the saying "cutting nose of to spite face" comes to mind. I also think MS thinks soft piracy has done it's bit and made windows and office the standered, so now its time to turn the screw because everybody now has to have it!

  9.12.2005 11:40 #12

• wteo

  The Internet was free invention for which the corporations contributed practically nothing. It was then hijacked by the for-profit corportions. Their pricing of software is obscene and there is one word to describe it: greed. I traveled to Asia often and it did not take long even to casual observers that without pirated software, the vast majority of the people would have no access to computers and software. At one time it would have taken 3 to 6 months of their wages to pay just for one software. Now their economic lot has improved, but still it takes abig bite of their monthly paycheck just for one software. Microsoft, with its monopoly, is regarded by many as the greatest evil since the slave trade of 300 years ago! It costs pittance, even with extensive research, to create and distribute, for example, Microsoft software, and yet each program is sold for 200 to 300 times the cost. My admiration goes to those of you who offer your software gratis or who price them reasonably. This type of conduct is more fitting with the spirit of the Internet, which the corporations did not invent but merely hijack, after it took off.
  I hope the Linux people can find ways to make the use of Linux operating systems easier so that we all can abandon Windows!! May piracy in the U.K. double to 50% and the world's rate jumps accordingly!!

  9.12.2005 11:58 #13

• procode

  That's absolute nonsense .. The Cinema/'film making' business is the only one where 'you can't see what you are buying', until sometime after you have paid ..
  
  If you then find the film to be 'rubbish', 'not fit for it's purpose', you still don't get your money back .. !!
  
  I watch 'copies', now and again, and if it's a good film, I alway buy it .. !!
  
  If they want to take me to court, I'll go .. !!

  9.12.2005 13:52 #14

• wrf01a

  Here at this college, if a student needs a program to do an assignment, I'll give it to them if I have it. With tuition at $600 per semester hour, these kids need all the help they can get.

  9.12.2005 15:38 #15

• uglyolman

  AAARG!!!!

  9.12.2005 19:00 #16

• Tralblazr

  I have been wondering if the "big guys" who pirate dvd's have deals with the major movie companies. These pirates seem to make 10's of thousands of copies of crap cam jobs and such, with stamped dvd's that are silver on the info side(as stamped dvd's are from what i know of them) the label is professional, and the cover is very professional. By the dvd cover being professional i mean it's not inkjet printable, it's stamped, but they dont seem to be the quality of original labels. Why do they do this rather than sell dvd5's as legit copies?!? This goes back to byteback's comments on why m$ is so popular.

  9.12.2005 19:41 #17

• pcrepair

  Dear oh Dear do you all have your knickers in a twist
  software development costs an amazing amount of money. they don't make as much profit as you think, they don't lose money either, but be honest if you are stealing then you are stealing!
  

  10.12.2005 03:01 #18

• runner121

  if you had checked other posts you would see that other useless opinions like yours were posted already.

  10.12.2005 04:13 #19

• runner121

  usless,not to be confused with usefull.

  10.12.2005 04:16 #20

• byteback

  “Stealing is stealing” not quite! It’s a matter of opinion. In a country that has a right to “fair use,” removing that right with copy protection may be seen by one person as stealing their rights, but another person doesn’t see this as stealing. In the UK if you find something, say a bag of shopping (groceries for our US friends) and you don’t hand it in to a police station it is “theft by finding” and is, in UK law, stealing, but if most people found a few tins of beans a bag of potato and a frozen chicken at the bus stop they may take it home without thinking they are stealing. Does the law define stealing, with different laws in different countries? Or is it morality that defines stealing, with us all having different opinions and moral definitions? Here’s a fitting humorous look at ownership.
  
  A man is walking across a field in the heart of England, when the lord of the manor tells him to “get of my land”, “what do you mean your land?” the man replied “this is an open field, if its yours, where did you get it from?” the Lord replied “from my father, who got it from his father and his father before him” well where did your forefathers get it from” replied the man. “He jolly well fought for it” the Lord replied! “Well get your coat off and I’ll fight you for it” replied the man!!!

  10.12.2005 09:22 #21

• pcrepair

  C'mon i was kidding
  34,000 new jobs ?
  probably all computer repairmen

  12.12.2005 12:18 #22

• isepiq

  King David in the Jewish writings 'stole' bread from the inner sanctuary. Just him going in there was a crime punishable by death. God blessed him.
  I live in apartments where the majority are disabled, old etc. They live on $600 to $800 per month in Southern California! They have old second hand computers (donated) and some of the sick and disabled have nothing but being on a computer. If the industry had something for them, I would listen more to their side.
  It all boils down to this: Are you getting "free" software for an evil purpose or a good purpose?
  The sick and disabled are not costing the companies any sales, and statistically have a shorter life span.
  If I can give a terminally ill person some software etc., for free, then I will.
  The software/movie/music companies won't.
  By the by, we saw Narnia at the theater, are buying the PS2 version for our son, and will buy the DVD when it comes out. The rest we download and usually end up deleting after a few minutes of yuck, this is junk.
  IMHO
  isepiq

  13.12.2005 20:08 #23