Consumers are more likely to be ripped off from buying software products on the Internet, with figures revealing up to 90 percent of software purchased through online auction sites is illegal.
"We conducted test purchases from online auction sites and these have shown 70 to 90 per cent of software products purchased as illegal," Chairman of the Business Software Alliance Association, Jim Macnamara said.
Macnamara told ZDNet that the BSAA - which represents leading software companies worldwide - has witnessed a gradual decline in PC piracy software in Australia since the company first began operating more than a decade ago.
However, he admits that it is still not at a level the country should be happy with.
The total rate of software piracy in Australia is estimated to be around 32 percent. However, in the United States the figure is 25 percent.
Macnamara believes Australian officials need to reduce the figure to compete in the global information age.
Furthermore, if the high level of piracy on the Internet remains unchecked, the Association believes it will ultimately erode consumer confidence in e-commerce and slow down the e-commerce boom that the government is predicting.
"There is a cyber wildwest going on where piracy is rampant and there are few controls being applied, the government needs to secure a safer environment for intellectual software," Macnamara said.
"There is virtually no criminal activity happening against software piracy in this country at a state or federal level."
Macnamara told ZDNet that the online auction companies are aware of the amount of pirated software being sold on the sites, however he admits it is difficult for the operators to stop it.
"If you are running an online auction site, it's difficult to police. There needs to be more self-regulation," Macnamara said.
According to an e-Bay spokesperson, the company has developed guidelines that apply to pirated software.
"There is quite a stringent policy that applies to people selling those items on the Web site, it protects our members from liability and helps make e-Bay a safe place to trade from," the spokesperson said.
"Online piracy is huge and it is going to grow. The government isn't applying high enough disincentives," Macnamara said.
According to Microsoft, "it's an horrific figure that up to 90 percent of all software purchased on Internet is counterfeit."
Furthermore, "one in three software products in Australia is counterfeit or illegal, which has a huge impact on the whole software industry and a marked effect on software developers," the spokesperson said.
"The way you can tell counterfeit software is that the price is too good to be true."
The latest figures revealed by BSAA, equates to losses to software vendors of around AU$260 million a year from software piracy.
Furthermore, piracy also results in significant losses to the local market, which has estimated losses of around $280 million a year.
Other Web sites that contribute to the selling of pirated software are warez sites -specialising in offering pirate software, crackz sites - offering illegal software and serial numbers and, IRC channels for downloading software.
