The BSA's 2008 Piracy Study starts off optimistically, but immediately grounds itself in reality by admitting some bad news. In short, the BSA's new study finds that piracy rates have either stabilized or declined in some geographical regions, but overall, the global piracy rate has jumped upward - from 37% in 2007 to 41% in 2008.

The growth of computer sales, especially in emerging markets, is having a direct consequence on the fight against piracy. With the arrival of cheap computers such as netbooks flooding the market, individuals who never dreamed about owning a computer only a few year ago are now spending countless hours on Facebook. But there's a significant lag in software sales versus the total number of computers in the market. In these emerging markets, the BSA finds that plenty of money is being spent on computers - just not on software.

"While emerging economies account for 45 percent of the global PC hardware market, they account for less than 20 percent of the PC software market. If
the emerging economies’ PC software share were the same as it is for PC hardware, the software market would grow by $40 billion a year," the study notes.

The bottom line of the report dictates that even with a stagnant or declining rate of piracy in certain markets, the overall growth of computer purchases ultimately means more instances of piracy. But the BSA notes that marketing legitimate software in the highest piracy rates (95% in Georgia, 92% in Bangladesh) could turn things around with dramatic results.

Date: 2009-05-12 Source: http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1854