The "Global Software Piracy Study", a study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and conducted by research firm IDC, estimated Asia-Pacific's piracy rate to be at 53 percent in 2003, translating to more than US$7.5 billion in losses for the software industry.
According to BSA's past findings, Asia has always been a hotbed for pirated material, with piracy rates hovering consistently around the 50 percent mark. However, the association's previous studies focused solely on applications used by businesses.
The scope for the 2003 report was expanded to include desktop operating systems and software geared at consumers such as PC games, said Jeffrey Hardee, vice president and regional director for BSA Asia-Pacific.
With the widened scope, Asia now ranks fourth on BSA's global piracy rate report card, below Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the combined region of Middle East and Africa.
Despite ranking fourth, three out of the top four countries with the highest piracy rates worldwide came from Asia, Hardee said. Vietnam and China continue to present the worst piracy problems, where piracy rates for both countries stood at 92 percent last year.
"Piracy continues to be a significant problem through Asia-Pacific, as evidenced by the region's representation among the world's piracy leaders," added Martin Kralik, IDC Asia-Pacific's senior research manager.
The issue could be worsened as Internet penetration continues to grow in Asia, giving consumers convenient access to pirated software via Web sites and file-sharing networks.
"Without strong online copyright laws and enforcement of such laws, online piracy will continue to grow," said BSA.
However, Hardee said there could be a sliver lining as Asian governments have stepped up their anti-piracy measures as a result of cross-border trade pacts.
Free Trade Agreements that exist between the US and Asian countries such as Singapore and Australia often include clauses which call for governments to place a greater emphasis on intellectual property protection. In China, authorities are also clamping down on piracy by imposing harsher penalties on offenders and outlawing the use of pirated software among local government agencies, BSA said.
"BSA will continue to work with governments across Asia-Pacific to encourage them to enact policies to protect software intellectual property, and implement programs to educate businesses and consumers about the importance of copyright protection for creative works," said Hardee.
Asia would not bootleg so much software if it was 95% cheaper or free.
Which is why Linux and open source make so much sense thoughout Asia.
It _is_ free.
This will reduce piracy.
Which solves the problem for the BSA, no?