PC Software Piracy rate in UAE sees no increase in 2009 compared to previous year

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The Business Software Alliance (BSA), an international association representing the global software industry, in partnership with market research firm IDC, recently announced its seventh annual global software piracy study, tracking PC software piracy rates in more than 100 economies. From 2008 to 2009, installations of unlicensed software on personal computers (PC) in the UAE remained unchanged at 36 percent.

Despite the global economic recession, piracy of software on PCs declined in many markets, dropping in 54 economies and increasing in only 19, according to the 2009 BSA/IDC Global PC Software Piracy Study. However, the global piracy rate increased from 41 to 43 percent, largely the result of fast growing, higher piracy markets such as China, India, and Brazil increasing their share of the overall software market.

Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Alshihhi, Director General of the UAE Ministry of Economy, said, “The committed and sustained efforts by the Ministry of Economy, the Business Software Alliance and other organizations have ensured that the UAE remains among the top 25 global economies with the lowest piracy rate. Curbing software piracy will foster innovation and creativity which in turn will contribute to the all round progress of the country.”

“This study makes clear that BSA’s efforts to reduce software piracy in the UAE are still of vital importance,” said Jawad Al Redha, BSA Co-Chairman in the Gulf Region. “As we emerge from the most severe global economic recession in twenty years, we will continue to engage with government, businesses, and consumers about the risks of stealing software – and the true impact that software piracy has on the UAE’s economy.”

IDC finds that for every $100 worth of legitimate software sold in 2009, an additional $75 was pirated. But this is an issue that affects more than industry revenues, as lowering PC software piracy can have significant economic benefits. A 2008 BSA/IDC study on the economic impact of reducing software piracy  found that lowering the software piracy rate by ten points over four years could boost the local IT sector’s revenue by AED 1.11 billion and generate almost a thousand additional IT-related jobs. In fact, IDC estimates that for every dollar of legitimate software sold in a country, there are another $3-$4 of revenue for local service and distribution firms. Piracy also puts consumers at risk by compromising their computer security, since pirated software often contains malware. 

The fight against software piracy remains an urgent one, and recognising this, the Business Software Alliance has been constantly coordinating with the UAE Ministry of Economy and other government agencies and private organizations throughout the country to tackle the problem. The BSA also inked several Memoranda of Understanding, organized roundtables, and trained judicial experts across the Middle East as part of its commitment to escalating region-wide anti-software piracy activities. 

“The BSA/IDC Global Piracy Study shows there was some progress in the global fight against software piracy in 2009 – but incremental change is not enough,” said Al Redha. “Piracy is limiting IT innovation, job creation, local economic growth and is robbing governments of vital tax revenues.  Our report makes it very clear that governments around the world must redouble their efforts to combat software theft.”

Additional key findings from the study include:

• PC software piracy dropped in 54 of the 111 countries studied; however the worldwide piracy rate rose from 41% in 2008 to 43% in 2009, due to exponential growth in PC software deployments in emerging economies.
• The commercial value of pirated software in 2009 was $51.4 billion.
• The United States, Japan, and Luxembourg continue to hold the lowest piracy rates of countries surveyed (20, 21, and 21 percent, respectively).
• Countries with the highest piracy rates include Georgia, Zimbabwe, and Moldova (all higher than 90 percent)
• Forces driving piracy down included vendor legalization programs, government and industry education campaigns, enforcement actions, and technology shifts, such as the increased deployment of digital rights management (DRM) and greater use of software asset management (SAM).
• Factors driving piracy rates up included rapid growth of the consumer PC market, and greater activity in the installed base of older computers where unlicensed software is more prevalent, and the increasing sophistication of software pirates and cyber criminals.

The 2009 BSA/IDC Global PC Software Piracy Study covers piracy of all software that runs on PCs, including desktops, laptops, and ultra-portables, including netbooks. This includes operating systems, systems software, such as databases and security packages, and applications software, with legitimate free software and open source software covered by the scope of the study. It does not include software that runs on servers or mainframes. IDC used proprietary statistics for software and hardware shipments and enlisted IDC analysts in more than 60 countries to review local market conditions and estimate the rate of PC software piracy around the world.