Technology companies in Singapore suffered more losses from software piracy last year.
According to the seventh annual Global Software Piracy Study, the dollar
losses rose by more than 20 per cent to almost $200 million last year.
This despite the study also showing that the piracy rate for Singapore
was at a seven year low of 35 per cent last year.
The findings from the study were released by the Business Software
Alliance (BSA), an international association representing the global
software industry.
BSA’s Vice President and Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Jeffery
Hardee, said Singapore continues to make steady progress against
software piracy.
However, he said the government is in a position to reduce software
piracy even further.
Mr Hardee said with sustained educational and enforcement efforts, there
is no reason why Singapore cannot bring it piracy rate down to levels
similar to those of Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
They have software piracy rates of between 21 and 25 per cent.
Mr Hardee said doing so would not only bolster the local IT sector but
also strengthen Singapore’s position as a global technology and
innovation hub, which would attract more investments and bring more jobs
into the country.
According to the study, Singapore continued to have the fourth lowest PC
software piracy rate in Asia Pacific.
PC software piracy in Asia Pacific declined in fourteen markets, stayed
the same in four economies and increased in only one.
However, the study found that due to fast growing, higher piracy markets
such as China, India, and Brazil increasing their share of the overall
software market, the overall global software piracy rate rose to 43 per
cent last year, an increase of two percentage points from 2008.
-- 938Live