BSA Report Finds 40 Per cent of Computer Users in Canada Admit They Pirate Software
Value of PC software theft in Canada totals $1.141 Billion Dollars in 2011
TORONTO, May 15, 2012 /CNW/ - 40 per cent of computer users in Canada admit they have acquired pirated software, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) reported today in the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study. Some users say they pirate all or most of the time. Others say they do it occasionally or rarely. The net effect was to fuel a software piracy rate of 27 per cent last year in Canada, meaning that nearly one in three copies of software were unlicensed. The commercial value of this piracy was $1.141 billion.
"If 40 per cent of consumers admitted they shoplift — even rarely —authorities would react by increasing police patrols and penalties. Software piracy demands a similar response: concerted public education and vigorous law enforcement," said Jacquie Famulak, Chairman of the BSA Canada Committee.
14 per cent of admitted software pirates in Canada surveyed in the study say they acquire software illegally "all of the time," "most of the time" or "occasionally," while 26 per cent say they do so only "rarely." The study also found that admitted software pirates in Canada are predominantly male between the ages of 25 and 34.
"Software piracy persists as a drain on the global economy, IT innovation and job creation," said BSA president and CEO Robert Holleyman. "Governments must take steps to modernize their IP laws and expand enforcement efforts to ensure that those who pirate software face real consequences."
Globally, the study finds that piracy rates in emerging markets tower over those in mature markets — 68 per cent to 24 per cent, on average — and emerging markets account for an overwhelming majority of the global increase in the commercial value of software theft. This helps explain the market dynamics behind the global software piracy rate, which hovered at 42 per cent in 2011 while a steadily expanding marketplace in the developing world drove the commercial value of software theft to $63.4 billion.
Other findings from this year's BSA Global Software Piracy Study include:
- Globally, the most frequent software pirates are disproportionately young and male — and they are more than twice as likely to live in an emerging economy as they are to live in a mature one (38 to 15 per cent).
- Business decision makers admit to pirating software more frequently than other users — and they are more than twice as likely as others to say they buy software for one computer and then install it on additional machines in their offices.
- Globally, there is strong support for IP rights and protections in principle, but a troubling lack of incentive for pirates to change their behavior in practice. Just 20 per cent of frequent pirates in mature markets — and 15 per cent in emerging markets — say the risk of getting caught is a reason not to pirate software.
This is the ninth annual study of global software piracy conducted by BSA in partnership with IDC and Ipsos Public Affairs, two of the world's leading independent research firms. The study methodology involves collecting 182 discrete data inputs and assessing PC and software trends in 116 markets. This year's study also included a survey of 15,000 computer users in 33 countries that together constitute 82 per cent of the global PC market.
A full copy of the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study, including Canada-specific data, is available for download on BSA's website: www.bsa.org/globalstudy.
About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the leading global advocate for the software industry. It is an association of nearly 100 world-class companies that invest billions of dollars annually to create software solutions that spark the economy and improve modern life. Through international government relations, intellectual property enforcement and educational activities, BSA expands the horizons of the digital world and builds trust and confidence in the new technologies driving it forward.
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