Software piracy on the rise

Up to 40 per cent of software installed by UK businesses last year is illegal, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

Tech companies lost out on nearly £7.55bn in missed revenues as a result.

And the situation's getting worse, despite the organisation's best efforts to clamp down on piracy: the figure for 2000 was 37 per cent.

The BSA believes the trade in illegal software is being aided by lax laws around the world and the growing availability of bootlegged software on the web.

Worldwide piracy rates during the mid-1990s fell. However, levels picked up in 2000, coinciding with the widening availability of black market software on the internet.

Software piracy rates in France and Germany also increased last year despite the group's increased efforts in Europe. In 2001, it issued over one million notices to companies warning them that they might be infringing software copyright.

The traditional piracy black spots of Eastern Europe and Latin America again had the worst rates, at 67 per cent and 57 per cent respectively.

North America, where the copyright infringement laws are toughest, saw piracy increase one per cent to 25 per cent - but nevertheless that's the lowest regional rate in the world.

In Asia, piracy rose in Malaysia, India and the Philippines, though the region as a whole was down slightly.

Beth Scott, vice president for the BSA in Europe, told Reuters: "In the seven years that we have conducted this study, this is the first time piracy has increased for two years in a row. This is particularly disturbing in light of the fact that more and more software companies are moving their distribution systems to the internet."

The BSA admits that its attempts to educate businesses are failing, and that it needs to come down harder on companies which do break the law. In May this year, it lobbied politicians to beef up the penalties for such offences under the European Copyright Directive.

The organisation comprises 46 software makers including Adobe and Microsoft.