Software piracy still rife in the UK

Software piracy remains rife in the UK as losses hit $1.8bn in the last year but it is slowly inching down in other parts of the world.

Emerging markets such as China, India and Russia saw single-digit drops in the percentage of illegal software installed on PCs between 2004 and 2005, according to new research from the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

However, the amount of illegal software installed on PCs was unchanged over the past year in the UK. Here 27 per cent of PC software is pirated and the BSA estimates this has led to $1.8bn in losses for software publishers.

Siobhan Carroll, the BSA's regional manager for Northern Europe, told silicon.com: "There's a hardcore element within [UK] business that is continuing to ignore [the fact] they should not be operating with illegal software - and there's a certain level of complacency."

Worldwide, 35 per cent of PC software is illegal, resulting in $34bn in losses, according to the BSA.

In countries such as China, where PC piracy has dropped four percentage points over the last year - a second straight annual decrease - Carroll points to stronger intellectual property laws and enforcement as helping to bring about these changes.

The UK government could also do more to fight intellectual property theft by building awareness and introducing tougher enforcement, she said.

She added: "We need thought leadership from the [UK] government in the same way they promote thought leadership in smoking or drinking. People need to know this is wrong."

In businesses, end users tend to be the main problem - downloading illegal software without the knowledge of the IT department.

To combat this, Carroll said: "IT managers need support from the board - [the IT department] is often busy and low on resources."

Boards need to invest in buying tools and hiring enough IT staff to manage software use across the enterprise, as well as in paying for end user training on software piracy issues.

The alternative, the BSA warns, is to face potential legal action for violating intellectual property laws.

The US remains the country with the lowest level of software piracy, at 21 per cent, followed by New Zealand (23 per cent), Austria and Finland (both 26 per cent), according to the BSA research which was conducted by IDC.