New Delhi: The use of licensed software can help to increase India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $739 billion, Global Intellectual Property Centre (GIPC) said.

Quoting from various studies GIPC, an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, said India's GDP will see a significant increase if unabated use of online and software piracy is arrested.

"While international rating agencies have portrayed a negative outlook on the country's GDP, studies have indicated that the use of licensed software alone can increase India's GDP by a whopping $739 billion," GIPC said in a statement.

Experts are of the opinion that the music industry alone suffered an estimated total loss of $431 million last year due to piracy, it added.

Software industry reported a 63 per cent rate of PC software piracy in 2011 with a commercial value of unlicensed software estimated to be over $2.9 billion, it said.

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