Software Piracy and Global Competitiveness: Report on Global Software Piracy

This paper is a comprehensive examination of the impact of software piracy worldwide. Software piracy is defined by the American Software Publishers Association as the unauthorized duplication of computer software. Completed in April 1997, this survey examines business application software piracy in 1996. Three main messages emerge using data collected from a variety of sources and analyzed using strict research methodolog. Firstly, business application software piracy cost the industry $11.3 billion in 1996. Secondly, continued growth of the worldwide software industry is being retarded by piracy. Thirdly, governments worldwide must do more to combat piracy . 1997 piracy data have become available since this paper was submitted. 1998 data are expected in May 1999.