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Software Piracy Will Get Worse

Posted by Zonk on from the arrr-drm'd-music-off-the-port-bow dept.

gollum123 writes "According to a study done by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and research firm IDC, it is likely that software piracy will continue to expand as the Internet grows. Worldwide revenue loss due to software piracy was estimated at $33 billion for 2004 with about 1/3 of the software used being illegal. But within five years, that number could boom to two-thirds, with the value of pirated software nearing US$200 billion. Countries with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam, Ukraine, China, Zimbabwe and Indonesia while United States, New Zealand, Austria, Sweden and the United Kingdom had the lowest."

20 of 484 comments (clear)

  1. Shareware by dnoyeb · · Score: 5, Funny

    And I've got a shareware program thats been downloaded thousands of times but nobody has sent me $20. I have lost 100s of 1000s of dollars to this theft! I need legislation!!

    1. Re:Shareware by Phanatic1a · · Score: 4, Funny

      Meanwhile, this call for legislation has scared off many potential users of your shareware program, so there are now thousands of people not downloading your software. If your asked-for legislation passes, that means you've robbed yourself of hundreds of thousands of dollars in income.

    2. Re:Shareware by LordNimon · · Score: 3, Funny
      Meanwhile, this call for legislation has scared off many potential users of your shareware program

      Now that's what I call wild, unfounded speculation! I'd mod you a troll if I had points.

      --
      And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
      To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
    3. Re:Shareware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      This thread will stand forever as a monument to missing the joke.

    4. Re:Shareware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      at least you didn't charge $40 the thefts would have cost you even more.

  2. Insightful research! by c0ldfusi0n · · Score: 5, Funny

    "According to a study done by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and research firm IDC, it is likely that software piracy will continue to expand as the Internet grows."

    In other news, scientists established today that the bigger a container gets the more it can contain. Still no cure for cancer.

    --
    A computer makes it possible to do, in half an hour, tasks which were completely unnecessary to do before.
    1. Re:Insightful research! by freakmn · · Score: 2, Funny

      I hear that his software is prone to viruses coming in through the backdoor. I guess there's a chance he might have the same vulnerability...

      --
      warning: This post is likely to contain gobs of dripping sarcasm. Consume at your own risk.
  3. On the subject of software piracy. by Haiku+4+U · · Score: 1, Funny

    If this is the case,
    why bother with serial
    schemes, cracked in moments.

    1. Re:On the subject of software piracy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Your haiku is off
      Check the last line please
      it contains more

    2. Re:On the subject of software piracy. by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 2, Funny


      You are one to talk
      Seems your second line is flawed
      You are filled with shame

      --
      ____

      ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    3. Re:On the subject of software piracy. by Haiku+4+U · · Score: 1, Funny

      I have checked the line
      you may want to see about
      a dictionary.

  4. Actually by TheConfusedOne · · Score: 4, Funny

    The porn industry gets larger and larger and then suddenly contracts, gets bored, and probably nips off for a quick nap.

    --
    --- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
  5. Yet another thing the US is trailing in. by Darkmoor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Damnit people! We have to TRY HARDER! C'mon we can't let countries like China and Vietnam beat us at everything!

    1. Re:Yet another thing the US is trailing in. by Ecko7889 · · Score: 1, Funny

      They took our jobs, know we have plenty of free time to pirate the world!

      --
      $sig$
  6. Meta-Summary by adavies42 · · Score: 3, Funny

    According to a study done by $IP_HOLDER_ASSOC, it is likely that theft of $THEIR_IP will continue to grow. $ASSOC estimates that $BIGNUM dollars were lost to piracy in $LAST_YEAR, up from $SMALLERNUM in $LAST_YEAR--. $ASSOC believes that unless draconian legislation is passed which empowers $ASSOC to hire bounty hunters to seek out and cut the thumbs off of people who steal $THEIR_IP, $THEIR_INDUSTRY will collapse.

    --
    Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
    -kfg
  7. Re:In other news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    What?!? That is like saying with increased icecream sales over the summer months we will see a rise in crime. THE TWO DO NOT RELATE!

  8. Re:Growing Trend? by Bwian_of_Nazareth · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's the bracketing here? ((anti-software) (piracy group)) or ((anti (software piracy)) group)? I prefer to pretend it is the former one.

  9. Re:It is priced right by nigel_q · · Score: 3, Funny

    But isn't the fact that people help themselves to copies prove that the price IS wrong?

  10. Re:Crazy predictions by Tenebrious1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    says that they're expecting it to be worth about $300 billion in just five years. Are they really suggesting that the worldwide market is going to triple that quickly?

    Wow, looks like it's a good time to become a sofware pirate! Profits for software pirates will triple this year! Better quit my network enginer job and get in while the gettin's good!

    --
    -- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.
  11. Re:Growing Trend? by reidbold · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh my god you're right! Apache is /more/ popular than IIS! How could a joke on slashdot not actually be true?

    --
    -Reid