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BSA IDC FUD

Posted by timothy on from the another-tla-comes-to-mind dept.

truthsearch writes "News.com.com is reporting that a 'study, commissioned by the BSA and conducted by IDC, found that in general, nations with the lowest piracy rates had the largest IT sectors. The study, which examined 57 countries, predicted that a 10-point reduction in the rate of piracy over four years could generate 1.5 million jobs and $64 billion taxes worldwide.' The BSA, er... Microsoft, will use this study to convince governments to crack down on piracy. 'Overall, the countries that have the poorest record of IP rights have slower rates of IT growth,' BSA CEO Robert Holleyman said. Oh, and the countries with the most oppression have had the slowest IT growth, but that can't be the cause, nah."

4 of 341 comments (clear)

  1. In a related study... by Sanity · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...the BSA pointed out that countries with more relaxed Intellectual Property laws had higher child mortality rates. "The inference is clear", BSA CEO Robert Holleyman said, "Piracy kills babies".

  2. Correlation vs. Causality by nick+this · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Another classic example of confusing correlation with causality. Just because there is a correlation between the two, doesn't mean that one *causes* the other. They could just as easily *both* be affected by a third variable (average income? average levels of education? percentage of computer-using businesses?)

    This is the kind of thing that gives statistics a bad name.

    Here's another correlation distortion. People in the mid 1800's had an average lifespan of what? 45 years? Today's average lifespan is like 70 or something. Now, choose your data sets that way, and compare life expectancy of those people who have personal computers, and those that didn't (those from the 1800's). You'll find a *strong* correlation between PC use and life expectancy.

    But it's clearly meaningless. The key factor here is obviously availability of health care. You can use this same trick to "prove" relationship between almost anything.

    This study is clearly junk.

  3. Free Software Proposal by benja · · Score: 5, Funny
    In the light of these amazing and insightful numbers, I propose that governments all over the world take immediate measures to combat privacy and foster the development and distribution of Free Software. After all, Free Software attacks piracy at its root: Free Software cannot be pirated per definitionem!

    These numbers make it clear that countries investing in Free Software will have a clear competitive advantage when it comes to their IT sectors.

    :-)

  4. The BSA - bunch of thugs by Migraineman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I started my own business recently. Not two weeks after I submitted the paperwork for a state business license, I received a mailing from the BSA that encouraged me to volunteer for an audit "just to make sure I didn't expose myself to the liability of unlicensed or improperly licensed software."

    Uh huh. Riiiiiight. Seems that the state gub'ment sold a mailing list to these jackbooted thugs. You gimme any of that juris-my-diction crap, you can cram it up your ass.