Popular Technology Degrees
Is Software Piracy a Threat to the Information Technology Industry?
September 19, 2006
by Mary Hobson
mary.hobson@technology-schools.com
Technology Schools Columnist
Software piracy has been a problem since its creation, but the huge demand for software created by the PC has fueled the pirated software market. The Business Software Alliance was created as a pressure group by the information technology industry to decrease the size of the problem. To keep track of progress, they have commissioned IDC, a leading global market research firm, to produce an annual report for the last three years.
Software Piracy Around the World
The US has the lowest piracy rates in the world with piracy rates of around 21% of all software. However, this still means that some $6.9 billion was effectively stolen from software companies, and this is the largest amount of lost money for any single country. Other countries hover around the world average of 35%, but some notable
exceptions include:
- Vietnam (90%)
- Zimbabwe (90%)
- Indonesia (87%)
- China (86%)
- Ukraine (85%)
- Russia (83%)
However, these countries are experiencing large declines in piracy rates as world trade pressure encourages governments to pass and enforce intellectual property protection laws.
Is Software Piracy Theft?
There are arguments that software piracy is not theft as such and that it can actually be good for the technology industry; the proliferation of software means that more people buy and use hardware. There is also some discussion as to what actually constitutes software piracy. Some software licences forbid copying as a part of routine backup procedures, although in the US this is not legally enforceable. Other licenses are "lifetime," but this is usually the defined lifetime of the software and can mean that out-of-date software is deemed illegal by the software company.
However, programmers, software technicians, and other employees of software companies are dependent on company sales for their salary, and piracy can seriously erode a company's profit. Software piracy is not a victimless crime, and the sale of illegal copies of software programs leads to billions of dollars in lost profit worldwide.
Information Technology Careers
You can help stop piracy by studying for an information technology degree. There are many technology schools that offer specialized programs in information technology degrees that can help you learn how to create secure systems and programs. A solid education will lead you to the top IT jobs and give you the foundation for a career in information technology. And with so much piracy going on, you can probably expect a secure job outlook.
Sources
About the Author
Mary Hobson is the Head of IT School at a Polytechnic in New Zealand. She also works as a freelance writer.
