Bangalore: 43 percent of computer users in India have accepted that they have obtained pirated software, reveals a report by Business Software Alliance (BSA) which was released recently. The research BSA Global Software Piracy Study is a product of studies conducted by IDC and IPSOS Public Affairs, two of the world’s leading independent research firms.  Part of the IPSOS study included a survey of 15,000 computer users in 33 countries that together constitute 82 percent of the global PC market reports InformationWeek.

Some of the survey respondents said that they pirate softwares almost every time or use pirated ones, while few others said that they pirate occasionally or very rarely. Although software piracy rate went down by 1 percent from 2010’s 63 percent yet, more than 6 out of 10 programs that users installed were unlicensed sais the study. It comes as a shock that the commercial value of this piracy rose to a record USD 2.93 billion (approximately INR13,783 crores).

“If 43 percent of consumers admitted they willfully violate traffic signals regularly, authorities would react by increasing traffic police checks and fines. Software piracy demands a similar response, marked by concerted Government and Industry led public education around the benefits of legal software, and strong and regular law enforcement actions. Consumers must be made aware that pirated software also poses serious IT/Cyber security risks. Additionally, a lack of information in companies on how to put in place adequate policy and process controls around IT assets procurement, deployment and usage is a strong contributor to the slow decline in software piracy rates. Government must look at creating a “National IP Enforcement Task Force”, under the umbrella of the “National IP Policy”, which the Indian Government is currently working on”, said Keshav Dhakad, BSA’s Chair - India Committee.

20 percent of respondents in India during the study admitted that they acquire software illegally “all of the time,” “most of the time” or “occasionally,” while 23 percent say they do so only “rarely.”  

Interestingly, the study also revealed that respondents who admitted that they pirate software are  predominantly male, between the ages of 25 to 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.”