Pirated software accounted for 65% of the volume of all software units installed on PCs in Russia for the year — down 2% from 2009 but nevertheless representing a commercial value of approximately $3 billion, reports Business Software Alliance (BSA) in its 2010 report on global piracy.
As the volume of PC shipments to countries with emerging economies (174 million) outpaced for the first time the volume of shipments to countries with mature markets (173 million), BSA says, “emerging economies have become the driving force behind PC software piracy, which leapt 14 percent globally in 2010 to $59 billion. This figure has nearly doubled in real terms since 2003.”
Among the BRIC countries, China shows the highest recorded level of piracy—78%, while in India and Brazil it is 64% and 54% respectively.
“In the last six years the level of software piracy in Russia has gone down every year, indicating the efficacy of the actions taken to protect intellectual property in recent years. But obviously in the past two years, the rate of software piracy reduction in Russia has decreased,” said Yekaterina Gromova, chairwoman of the Russian Committee of BSA.
Ms. Gromova stressed how important it is for Russia — if it wants to further reduce its piracy level — to ensure the effectiveness of copyright legislation and actively enforce related laws, reported CNews.ru, a Russian site specializing in IT issues.
A survey conducted by BSA as part of its study of piracy levels in Russia indicates that the majority of Russian respondents understand the benefits of licensed software, including the factors of reliability (86 percent) and access to technical support (69 percent). However, more than half of Russian respondents do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes legal and illegal use of software.
Last March, a Moscow district court sentenced Khimki resident Aleksey Andrus to a one-year imprisonment for installing unlicensed copies of Microsoft and 1C software. The court also ordered him to pay 44,000 rubles and 50,000 rubles to the license owners respectively.
Several years ago, cases of imprisonment in proceedings for piracy were rare, but now the situation is changing, notes Microsoft. Today, courts sentence those found guilty of pirating software to imprisonment and impose fines on them. This is especially true in situations involving aggravating circumstances or when an offender has a history of criminal activity, reports CNews.ru.
