African software piracy shock

JOHANNESBURG – Despite global efforts to raise awareness of intellectual property rights and the pitfalls of using computer software illegally, South Africa’s piracy rate stands at 37 per cent, with African countries topping 90 per cent.

That was the key message from the local arm of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an industry body that represents commercial software developers and its hardware partners, which released the results of the IDC’s Global Software Piracy Study late last week. The report, which covers 87 countries, points to a global software piracy average of 35 per cent – down one per cent on last year’s figures but still showing that over a third of the world’s software is used illegally.In Europe, the Middle East and Africa the rate stands at 39 per cent, down two percentage points from last year.However, illegal software still costs software companies and countries’ economies more than US$15,5 billion (N$105,4 billion) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and almost US$33 billion worldwide.In South Africa, the results are something of a mixed bag.South Africa’s 37 per cent is up one per cent from last year but still close to the global average.The country has an established technology market and a sophisticated infrastructure – something the IDC believes is leading the IT community to recognise the value of legitimate software in comparison to the rest of Africa.However, the rest of the continent has an average piracy rate of 80 per cent.Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia all rank in the mid-to-high 80s; Zimbabwe posts the highest figure of 90 per cent.The IDC says that Africa’s economy is suffering to the tune of more than US$1 billion as a result.”Piracy remains a major obstacle in realising the potential of the information economy here and abroad.It’s seen as a quick fix, an easy way to benefit from technology without investing too much.People rarely think of the ethical or economic consequences of pirating software,” says Stephan le Roux, chairman of the BSA.”We need to look at the IDC statistics in context though.The global software piracy average decreased by one per cent despite a massive increase in the number of PC users; an influx of new users from high-piracy market sectors [consumer and small business]; and the increasing availability of unlicensed software at online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing sites,” says Neil Dundas, a legal advisors to the BSA and a director at Bowman Gilfillan attorneys in Johannesburg.”Unfortunately, the value of pirated software increased.Last year, the world spent over US$59 billion on PC software but installed more than US$90 billion.For every two dollars worth of software purchased legitimately, one was obtained illegally.”- www.bsa.co.zaThe report, which covers 87 countries, points to a global software piracy average of 35 per cent – down one per cent on last year’s figures but still showing that over a third of the world’s software is used illegally.In Europe, the Middle East and Africa the rate stands at 39 per cent, down two percentage points from last year.However, illegal software still costs software companies and countries’ economies more than US$15,5 billion (N$105,4 billion) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and almost US$33 billion worldwide.In South Africa, the results are something of a mixed bag.South Africa’s 37 per cent is up one per cent from last year but still close to the global average.The country has an established technology market and a sophisticated infrastructure – something the IDC believes is leading the IT community to recognise the value of legitimate software in comparison to the rest of Africa.However, the rest of the continent has an average piracy rate of 80 per cent.Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia all rank in the mid-to-high 80s; Zimbabwe posts the highest figure of 90 per cent.The IDC says that Africa’s economy is suffering to the tune of more than US$1 billion as a result.”Piracy remains a major obstacle in realising the potential of the information economy here and abroad.It’s seen as a quick fix, an easy way to benefit from technology without investing too much.People rarely think of the ethical or economic consequences of pirating software,” says Stephan le Roux, chairman of the BSA.”We need to look at the IDC statistics in context though.The global software piracy average decreased by one per cent despite a massive increase in the number of PC users; an influx of new users from high-piracy market sectors [consumer and small business]; and the increasing availability of unlicensed software at online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing sites,” says Neil Dundas, a legal advisors to the BSA and a director at Bowman Gilfillan attorneys in Johannesburg.”Unfortunately, the value of pirated software increased.Last year, the world spent over US$59 billion on PC software but installed more than US$90 billion.For every two dollars worth of software purchased legitimately, one was obtained illegally.”- www.bsa.co.za