United States
BSA North America
Randolph Court
202.872.5500
randolphc@bsa.org
BSA Latin America
Rodger Correa
202.872.5140
rodgerc@bsa.org
BSA Europe, Middle East, Africa
Lisa Randles
+44.207.340.6080
lisar@bsa.org
BSA Asia-Pacific
Juliet Lim
Radiant Comm.
+65-9431 5111
Email
Piracy Impact Study
The Economic Benefits of Reducing Software Piracy
In 2009, more than four out of 10 software programs installed on personal computers around the world were stolen, with a commercial value of more than $51 billion. Unauthorized software can manifest in otherwise legal businesses that buy too few software licenses, or overt criminal enterprises that sell counterfeit copies of software programs at cut-rate prices, online or offline.
However, the impact of software piracy goes beyond revenues lost to the software industry, starving local software distributors and service providers of spending that creates jobs and generates much-needed tax revenues for governments around the world.
Curbing piracy has the reverse effect, sending ripples of stimulus through the whole information technology (IT) economy. And lowering piracy faster compounds the benefits. “The Economic Benefits of Reducing Software Piracy” documents these gains in 42 countries, which represent 93 percent of the global market for PC software. Below are the key findings:
- Reducing the piracy rate for PC software by 10 percentage points — 2.5 points per year for four years — would create $142 billion in new economic activity while adding nearly 500,000 new high-tech jobs and generating roughly $32 billion in new tax revenues by 2013.
- On average, more than 80 percent of the benefits of reducing PC software piracy accrue to local economies — and in some cases it is more than 90 percent.
- Front-loading the gain by lowering piracy 10 points in the first two years of a four-year period would compound the economic benefits by 36 percent, producing $193 billion in new economic activity by 2013 and generating $43 billion in new tax revenues.
- Software has a ripple effect on the broader IT industry because selling, servicing and supporting software creates downstream economic activity. In the 42 countries covered in the study, the commercial value of unlicensed PC software put into the market amounted to $45 billion in 2009, resulting in total losses of revenue, employment and taxes from related sectors in excess of $110 billion.
Clearly, concerted action to ensure strong protection for intellectual property (IP) and to reduce software piracy should be a priority for governments — sooner rather than later.
- Piracy Impact Study: The Economic Benefits of Reducing Software Piracy (pdf)
- Study in Brief (pdf)
- Global Press Release (pdf)
| Asia-Pacific | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Press Release | Country Profile | Translated Study |
Translated Study in Brief |
| Asia | Press Release (English) | |||
| Australia | Country Profile(English) | |||
| China | Press Release (Chinese) | Country Profile(Chinese) Country Profile(English) |
Study (Chinese) | |
| Hong Kong | Country Profile(English) | |||
| India | Press Release (English) | Country Profile(English) | ||
| Indonesia | Press Release (Indonesian) | Country Profile(English) | ||
| Japan | Press Release (Japanese) | Country Profile(English) | Study (Japanese) | Study in Brief (Japanese) |
| Philippines | Press Release (English) | Country Profile(English) | ||
| Singapore | Press Release (English) | Country Profile(English) | ||
| South Korea | Press Release (Korean) | Country Profile(English) | Study in Brief (Korean) | |
| Taiwan | Country Profile(English) | |||
| Thailand | Press Release(Thai) | Country Profile(English) | ||
| Vietnam | Country Profile(English) | |||
| Europe | ||||
| Country | Press Release | Country Profile | Translated Study |
Translated Study in Brief |
| Europe | Press Release (English) | |||
| Belgium | Press Release (Dutch) Press Release (French) |
Country Profile (Dutch) Country Profile (French) Country Profile (English) |
||
| Czech Republic | Press Release (Czech) | Country Profile (English) | ||
| France | Press Release (French) | Country Profile(French) Country Profile(English) |
||
| Germany | Press Release (German) | Country Profile (German)Country Profile (English) |
||
| Greece | Press Release (Greek) | Country Profile (Greek) Country Profile (English) |
||
| Hungary | Country Profile(English) | |||
| Italy | Press Release (Italian) | Country Profile (Italian) Country Profile(English) |
||
| Netherlands | Press Release (Dutch) | Country Profile (Dutch) Country Profile(English) |
||
| Poland | Press Release (Polish) | Country Profile (Polish) Country Profile(English) |
Study in Brief (Polish) | |
| Russia | Press Release (Russian) | Country Profile (Russian) Country Profile(English) |
||
| Spain | Press Release (Spain) | Country Profile (English) | ||
| Sweden | Press Release (Swedish) | Country Profile (English) | ||
| Ukraine | Country Profile (English) | |||
| United Kingdom | Press Release (English) | Country Profile (English) | ||
| Latin America | ||||
| Country | Press Release | Country Profile | Translated Study |
Translated Study in Brief |
| Argentina | Press Release (Spanish) | Country Profile(Spanish) Country Profile(English) |
Study (Spanish) | Study in Brief (Spanish) |
| Brazil | Press Release (Portuguese) | Country Profile(Portuguese) Country Profile(English) |
Study (Portuguese) | |
| Chile | Press Release (Spanish) | Country Profile(Spanish) Country Profile(English) |
Study (Spanish) | Study in Brief (Spanish) |
| Colombia | Press Release (Spanish) | Country Profile(Spanish) Country Profile(English) |
Study (Spanish) | Study in Brief (Spanish) |
| Mexico | Press Release (Spanish) | Country Profile(Spanish) Country Profile(English) |
Study (Spanish) | Study in Brief (Spanish) |
| Peru | Press Release (Spanish) | Country Profile(Spanish) Country Profile(English) |
Study (Spanish) | Study in Brief (Spanish) |
| Middle East and Africa | ||||
| Country | Press Release | Country Profile | Study | Study in Brief |
| Egypt | Country Profile(English) | |||
| Israel | Press Release (Hebrew) | Country Profile(English) | ||
| Jordan | Country Profile(English) | |||
| Saudi Arabia | Country Profile(English) | |||
| South Africa | Press Release (English) | Country Profile(English) | ||
| Turkey | Press Release (Turkish) |
Country Profile(English) | ||
| UAE | Country Profile(English) | |||
| North America | ||||
| Country | Press Release | Country Profile | Translated Study |
Translated Study in Brief |
| Canada | Press Release | Country Profile (English) |
|
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| United States | Press Release (English) | Country Profile (English) | ||
Other Recent BSA Reports:
- Seventh Annual BSA and IDC Global Software Piracy Study, 2010
- Resilience Amid Turmoil: Benchmarking IT Industry Competitiveness, Conducted by Economist Intelligence Unit, 2009
- Internet Piracy Report: Software Piracy on the Internet: A Threat to Your Security, 2009
- Piracy Impact Study: Economic Benefits of Reducing PC Software Piracy, 2008
