The fifth annual global software piracy study finds signs that enforcement is working, but emerging markets are getting their start on PCs with unlicensed software.
By Chris Smith
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) released its fifth annual global PC software piracy study this week, and the numbers are mind-boggling.
According to the study, which was conducted by IDC, one of the industry's leading global market research and forecasting firms, losses from piracy reached nearly $48 billion in 2007, some $8 billion more than the prior year. There was an optimistic note in the report, however, since piracy was found to be declining in 67 of the 108 countries included in the report. Even though only eight countries had piracy rates that were increasing, they also happened to be countries where PC use is growing rapidly.