As the IT industry makes it presence felt globally, the menace of software piracy is also on the rise. The PC market dynamics is expected to drive up piracy in the next couple of years.
More consumers and small businesses coming into the market tend to use illegal software. The increased availability of broadband and Net access is making Internet piracy easier.
?Slowdown will surely enhance (piracy) pressure. We expect pressures on industries like financial services and geographies like China, where manufacturing has taken a hit,? says Keith Beeman, general manager (Genuine Software Initiative), Microsoft.
Another important factor is PCs and software installed prior to 2008. The degree to which they install new pirated software may depend on product cycles, the rate at which they refresh corrupted pirated software, the relative availability of pirated and legitimate software, and prices and disposable income.
?We may see the full impact of global recession on the Indian market as well as in other markets for the next one to two years, where businesses or consumers may tend to hold off new purchases of legitimate software to some extent. This and the expanding Internet user base may impact piracy rates to a certain level,? says Lizum Mishra, director, Business Software Alliance (BSA) India.
According to latest BSA study, PC software piracy level in India was at 68% in 2008, a one point drop from 69% in 2007. However, dollar losses caused by software piracy continued to increase, rising to $2.7 billion in 2008 from $2 billion in 2007.
In 2008, the rate of PC software piracy dropped in slightly more than half (57) of the 110 countries studied, remained the same in nearly one-third (36) and rose in just 16. However, the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second year in a row, from 38% to 41%, mainly because PC shipments grew the fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India.
?The bad news is that software piracy remains so prevalent all over the world, undermining local IT service firms, giving illegal software users an unfair advantage in business, and spreading security risks,? says Robert Holleyman, BSA president & CEO.
Though anti-piracy initiatives such as formation of a national anti-piracy taskforce, setting up of special IP courts, promotion of IP rights and the training of enforcement officials is bound to reduce software piracy in India, a collaborative effort between the government and industry to tackle software piracy is also needed.
World Intellectual Property Organisation copyright treaties ensure protection for adequate copyright holders in the Internet user base. While many countries have instituted specialised IP courts or tribunals, two issues negatively impact cases in India. The slow speed of cases through the legal system and the lack of awareness of IP cases at the prosecutorial level and some courts.
So,the government should set up specialised IP courts, or the high courts should appoint special judges in all the states to add expertise and speed to the process. The government should form a national anti-piracy task force that crosses industry lines.
Though the piracy levels in India are seeing a gradual decline, with the PC market growth, the impact of software piracy on the local economy is rising, with 2008 seeing a 35% increase in losses to $2.7 billion. This is a direct threat to the competitiveness of the Indian IT industry, the country?s ability to attract new investments, innovation and the creation of job opportunities.