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BSA Claims 35% of Software is Pirated

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the that's-a-lot-of-eyepatches dept.

hdtv writes "Business Software Alliance says 35% of packaged software installed on PCs globally is pirated, and estimates the losses at $34 bln. From the article: 'The countries with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam (90%), Zimbabwe (90%), Indonesia (87%), China (86%), and Pakistan (86%). The countries with the lowest piracy rates were the United States (21%), New Zealand (23%), Austria (26%), and Finland (26%).' TechDirt analysis debunks some of the myths: 'The BSA claims that all of these "lost sales" represent real harm to the economy. It's the same bogus argument they've trotted out before, which is easily debunked. Much of that unauthorized software is being used to make firms much more productive than they would be otherwise -- probably benefiting the overall economy quite a bit.'"

3 of 617 comments (clear)

  1. what can you expect by m874t232 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    What can you expect from an organization called the "b.s. alliance"?

  2. Statistics by gidds · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Mmmm, lots of lovely numbers. Of course, 83.76% of statistics are made up. But that doesn't matter, coz 94.31% of people never believe them anyway.

    --

    Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.

  3. Re:I don't agree with the BSA's numbers... by MooUK · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Theft involves depriving the victim of what you take.

    If I copy a computer program, who have I deprived?

    (One can argue whether I've deprived the company of the money I'd have spent buying the product or whether I'd have never bought it all as much as you want, but I have not taken a copy that would have been someone else's, unlike with a car. Piracy is NOT theft.)