Software piracy still at an alarming rate

Software piracy is a growing problem among businesses internationally as well

as in India. Even with a decrease in the software piracy in last 10 years, it is

still very high in India. According to IDC estimates, the money lost in 2001

from pirated software is estimated to be close to $245 million, which is almost

half of the legal packaged software market. This revenue loss was mainly due to

piracy by unauthorized copying and selling and unauthorized bundling with

hardware.

In India, major driving forces for the use of pirated software are lack of

legal framework, a ‘taken-for-granted’ approach, huge availability of

pirated software, high software pricing, high usage of assembled PCs and

enormous financial benefits.

On the other hand, there are factors such as increased activities from

vendors, industry associations and government and growing user´s awareness that

are inhibiting piracy in India though it is still at a very high level. Most

ISVs like Microsoft, Oracle and Adobe fight individually as well as through

industry alliances such as BSA and Nasscom, to combat the problem of piracy.

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