SHARE

U.S. Leads Worldwide Software Piracy Decline

Software piracy has declined around the world, decreasing 10 points over the past eight years, according to a new study. The piracy rate for commercial software dipped down to 39 percent in 2002, compared to an all-time high of 49 percent in 1994. The Business Software Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based international association of software publishers, […]

Written By

SG

Sharon Gaudin

Jun 3, 2003

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

Software piracy has declined around the world, decreasing 10 points over the past eight years, according to a new study.

The piracy rate for commercial software dipped down to 39 percent in 2002, compared to an all-time high of 49 percent in 1994. The Business Software Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based international association of software publishers, also notes that piracy in the United States has hit a low of 23 percent — the lowest rate in the world today.

”It is welcoming news to learn that the worldwide software piracy problem has improved significantly since the release of the first study,” says Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of the Alliance. ”We attribute this trend to the industry’s success in implementing educational programs, working with governments to strengthen copyright laws and emphasizing good software asset management business practices that contribute to a safe and legal digital world.”

The study shows that worldwide, every country except Zimbabwe has reduced its piracy rate since 1994, the first year the study was done.

Despite the decrease in piracy, however, the losses associated with it are mounting.

Worldwide dollar losses due to piracy increased from $10.97 billion in 2001 to $13.08 billion in 2002, a 19 percent increase generally attributed to higher software prices.

The Alliance study shows that the Middle East and Africa, as a region, are showing the highest rate of improvement. The region had an 80 percent rate in 1994, but that number dropped to 49 percent in 2002. The most improved country is the United Arab Emirates with a 50-point drop, taking them from 86 percent in ’94 to 36 percent last year.

Eastern Europe holds onto the infamous rank of having the highest piracy rate. It came in with 85 percent eight years ago and today shows a 71 percent rate. Despite being at the top of the list, it is the fourth most improved region.

Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
Top 10 AIOps Companies

FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
What is Text Analysis?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
Finding a Career Path in AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2020

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020
Anticipating The Coming Wave Of AI Enhanced PCs

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 05, 2020
The Critical Nature Of IBM’s NLP (Natural Language Processing) Effort

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
August 14, 2020

SEE ALL
ARTICLES

SG

Sharon Gaudin

Sharon Gaudin is a veteran technology journalist who has worked for the likes of Computerworld, InformationWeek, and Datamation. She has covered everything from the cloud, security, and social networking to software development, robotics, artificial intelligence, and hardware.

U.S. Leads Worldwide Software Piracy Decline

Sharon Gaudin

Recommended for you...

Company

Categories

U.S. Leads Worldwide Software Piracy Decline

RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Sharon Gaudin

Recommended for you...

Company

Categories