Adobe could stop producing versions of its products in Chinese and other Asian languages if governments in the region don't crack down on software piracy, Chizen said in a weekend article in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.
Adobe representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Asia is the most active region in the world for software pirates. US trade group Business Software Alliance estimates that more than half of the software in use in Asia is illegally copied, resulting in annual losses of more than US$4 billion for the software industry. China's piracy rate is more than 90 percent.
Pirated versions of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system--some selling for as little as $1.50--were circulating in Asia mere days after the software was released in the United States last year.
Chizen said in the article that it can cost up to $750,000 to produce a Chinese-language version of a product, and extensive piracy makes it difficult for Adobe to recoup those costs.
