Six States Account for Nearly Half of All US Reports of Corporate Software Piracy

Manufacturers and Distributors are the most frequent violators

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly half of all suspected cases of corporate software piracy in America last year originated in six states, according to an analysis by the Business Software Alliance. California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois and Michigan together produced 49.3 percent of the reports BSA received in 2010 from sources alleging that companies were using unlicensed software.

As the world's premier anti-piracy organization, BSA receives tips from IT personnel and other knowledgeable sources through its online reporting form, www.nopiracy.org, and its anti-piracy hotline, 1-888-NO-PIRACY.  BSA received tips about companies from all 50 states last year.  

"On the one hand, it is not surprising that the six states where we are seeing the most corporate software piracy are all among the largest in the country," said Jodie Kelley, BSA's Vice President of Anti-Piracy and General Counsel. "But the trend underscores how prevalent these harmful copyright violations are throughout the US economy."

The overall software piracy rate in the United States was 20 percent in 2009, according to the BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Study, and its commercial value was nearly $8.4 billion.

Manufacturers and distributors last year were more frequently alleged to be using unlicensed software than were other types of companies. Together, those sectors accounted for 21 percent of the tips BSA received. Real estate and accounting firms generated the fewest reports, just 1 percent of the total. In all, BSA receives reports across 24 business sectors.

In addition to conducting copyright enforcement actions, BSA also offers companies a state-of-the-art training course and certification program called SAM Advantage, which teaches them how to avoid piracy in the first place by better managing their software tools as strategic assets. The course helps companies understand how to capture greater business value from their software assets while increasing efficiency and avoiding security risks and legal jeopardy.

About BSA

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the world's foremost advocate for the software industry, working in 80 countries to expand software markets and create conditions for innovation and growth. Governments and industry partners look to BSA for thoughtful approaches to key policy and legal issues, recognizing that software plays a critical role in driving economic and social progress in all nations. BSA's member companies invest billions of dollars a year in local economies, good jobs, and next-generation solutions that will help people around the world be more productive, connected, and secure. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, AVEVA, AVG, Bentley Systems, CA Technologies, Cadence, CNC/Mastercam, Compuware, Corel, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Intel, Intuit, Kaspersky Lab, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, PTC, Progress Software, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, and The MathWorks.

SOURCE Business Software Alliance

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