Andre Yoskowitz
22 Jul 2008 18:23
The Business Software Alliance released a new report yesterday claiming that software piracy in the United States has cost the industry $11.4 billion USD and lost the government $1.7 billion in taxes.
The group did however note that piracy is relatively low in the United States compared to the rest of the world and that the average of the 50 states is about 20 percent. The group did call the 20 percent of counterfeit material a "tragic" loss of revenue for the industry.
Had that software not been pirated, the BSA claims 25,000 police officers could be hired each year to patrol New York, Florida, California and Nevada as well as have 100 new middle schools created for children.
“The United States may have the lowest PC software piracy rate in the world, but still, one out of every five pieces of software put into service is unlicensed,” said BSA anti-piracy and general counsel veep Neil MacBride.
“Not only is this a problem for the software industry, but piracy also creates major legal and security risks for the companies involved.
“The most tragic aspect is that the lost revenues to tech companies and local governments could be supporting thousands of good jobs and much-needed social services in our communities."
The report also directly pointed at eight separate states, those that had "significant variations" from the national average.
The BSA-sponsored IDC study, available here (pdf), pinpointed eight US states in the report. It found significant variations from the national piracy figure of 20 per cent. California and Nevada led the pack with over 25 percent while Florida and New York lagged behind at 18 percent.
For an "interesting" read, please read the entire study which is available from the BSA: Piracy IDC Study