Software piracy rates dip in Ireland in 2007

14-05-2008

by Bryan Collins

Software piracy in Ireland fell from 36 percent to 34 percent between 2006 and 2007, according to a report by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The BSA's fifth annual global PC software piracy study shows that Ireland is making progress on the issue. The country is below the European average of 35 percent and has made headway since 2003 when the rate of piracy here stood at 41 percent.

"We are making progress in Ireland in the battle against software piracy. Reducing piracy further would deliver significant benefits for local consumers, local software and services firms, small businesses, and the society at large," said Aileen Eglington, spokesperson of the BSA Ireland committee.

"There are better business practices here in general. That is why the figures are starting to come down finally. We do have tough copyright laws but we are trying to make sure that they are enforced," she added.

The BSA is an international association representing the software industry. Its fifth study examined 108 countries and was conducted by IT market research firm, IDC. The report revealed that PC software piracy dropped in 67 of the countries surveyed and increased in just eight. Overall though, the report found worldwide piracy increased by 3 percent to 38 percent as a result of growth in the PC markets of high-piracy countries.

As Ireland is one of the world's largest software exporters the rate of piracy globally affects the economy here, according to Eglington. "What is really important is if the piracy rate comes down Ireland Inc benefits as well. If piracy rates go down, our exports go up," she told ENN.

"Government and industry anti-piracy efforts are delivering software piracy reductions in many countries," added John Gantz, chief research officer at the IDC. "However, rapid PC growth in higher-piracy emerging markets translates into an overall increase in global piracy. We expect this trend to continue, meaning industry and government must increasingly focus their efforts on combating piracy in these emerging economies."

In Ireland, the BSA has invested significantly in education and enforcement programmes over the last 10 years to raise awareness around these issues and claims that there has been a large uptake in the number of companies doing software audits as a result.

"A lot of people are very unsure about their licences and their policies. We have been doing a lot of work with Irish businesses. We did a big compliance campaign over March and April. We offered a lot of people compliance advice. Ten percent of companies actually took us up on the offer," said Eglington.

The EU piracy average is 35 percent. Many EU member states are considerably below that average rate such as Austria, Sweden and Belgium who are at 25 percent and the UK who is at 26 percent. In Ireland's key export markets of Europe, Middle East and Asia, the overall piracy rate rose to 44 percent.

"Of the 10 major software companies in the world, seven have a substantial base in Ireland, so the ICT sector is of huge importance. It is therefore vital that Ireland reduces its piracy rate and respects intellectual property if it is to remain attractive to foreign direct investment and maintain competitiveness on a global scale," said Kathryn Raleigh, Director of ICT Ireland, in a statement.

To combat piracy, the BSA wants more education to be provided about the value of intellectual property, and the risks of using unlicensed software. It is calling for updated national copyright laws, implementing the World Intellectual Property Organisation obligations. The BSA also wants more government resources to tackle piracy, including a national enforcement unit.