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