Piracy in China dropped 10%

Posted on Saturday, May 19 2007 @ 23:01 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
A new report from the BSA and IDC indicates software piracy in China has dropped 10 percent since 2003:
While the overall rate of piracy for the world remained static, the rate in high-piracy countries such as China and Russia dropped considerably. China's software piracy rate was as high as 92 percent in 2003 but, according to the 2006 data, has dropped to about 82 percent. Russia's piracy rate dropped seven percentage points over the last three years—from 87 percent in 2003 to 80 percent in 2006.

The BSA and IDC credit China's drop in piracy rates to efforts by the Chinese government to increase the use of legitimate software within its own departments and vendor arrangements, as well as increasing education and enforcement efforts. IDC estimates that the 10 percent drop in the country has saved $864 million in losses and that the legit software market there grew to nearly $1.2 billion in 2006. This reflects a market increase of over 358 percent since 2003, according to the report. As for Russia, the organizations say that the drop in piracy could be related to an increase in the shipments of laptop computers, which usually come with legit, OEM software preinstalled. "But resellers also report that more consumers seem willing to buy legitimate software as the standard of living rises along with Russia's economic growth," says the report.
More details at ARS Technica.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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