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BSA 2010 Piracy Report: $58.8 Billion

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the is-see-what-you-did-there dept.

Glyn Moody writes "The annual BSA report on software piracy is out, with even bigger numbers: 'The commercial value of software piracy grew 14 percent globally last year to a record total of $58.8 billion.' Yes, they're using the old 'commercial value' trick: 'The commercial value of pirated software is the value of unlicensed software installed in a given year, as if it had been sold in the market.' Except, of course, that the main reason users in developing countries — the main focus of the report — resort to piracy is because they can't afford Western-style pricing. It's also fun to see the BSA trotting out the old 'reducing piracy would generate lots of new jobs and taxes for local governments' — except that it doesn't, because the money not paid for software licences does not disappear, but is just spent elsewhere in the local economy."

3 of 361 comments (clear)

  1. Re:reducing the BSA would generate the most jobs by mister_playboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    confuse and obfuscate public policy

    You talk of "stealing" software... seems their obfuscation is working.

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    Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
  2. Software DRM knob turned to 11 by bmo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'd like to see Ballmer's previous threats to crank WGA and OGA to 11.

    I'd love to see DRM schemes that turn computers with illegitimate copies of software into smoking heaps.

    It'll never happen, though. Copyright infringement is too important to the industry incumbents to actually stop it. File sharing locks out alternatives, both commercial and free. Why pay for an alternative when you can crack the market leader for free? If the world suddenly discovered there was software besides Windows, Microsoft Office, Autocad, and Photoshop, there would be more competition.

    Ending piracy would end much of the market distortion that favors the incumbents at the expense of the rest.

    Do it, guys, if you have any balls.

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    BMO

  3. Re:stealing by bmo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >If I write a piece of software and it gets 100 paying users and zero pirates, I'm no better off than if I get 100 paying users and 1000 pirates. Count the paying users, not the pirates.

    If you write a piece of software and you get 100 paying customers and 1000 warez kiddies, you have 1000 future customers when they need to buy something for work.

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    BMO