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“One third of UK software illegal” – report

Tom Clarke

Tom Clarke

  • Updated:

pirate-flag-2.pngA report by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has found that 27% of all PC software installed in the UK in 2006 was illegal. What’s worse: the figure remains unchanged after three years, giving the impression that enforcement and penalties in the UK are completely ineffective.

According to BSA’s EMEA Legal Director, Sarah Coombes:

This is costing the software industry billions of dollars and putting UK businesses at risk. Despite attempts to educate businesses, and increased efforts to enforce the licensing laws by the government and the industry, it is clear that more must be done.

This report follows on from last year’s revelation that the worst culprits in business software-piracy are IT firms, the very companies you might expect to understand the threat of software piracy best. Backing up their campaign to convince businesses that it’s better to go legal, BSA is still offering a reward of up to £10,000 to anyone who reports an organisation which is using illegal software.

Even more bad news: if you immediately thought that you’re better off using open-source and free software, now even their legality is being challenged… by Microsoft. It seems that the only path left open to those of us who want to be completely legal and safe is buying all our software directly from Bill Gates. Funny, that.

Tom Clarke

Tom Clarke

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