Software piracy is the unauthorized duplication of computer software. Although most
computer users today are aware that unauthorized use and duplication of software
is illegal, many show a general disregard for the importance of treating software
as valuable intellectual property.
According to the BSA (Business Software Alliance) and IDC 6th Annual Global Software Piracy Study, the retail value of unlicensed software — representing revenue “losses” to software companies — broke the $50 billion level for the first time in 2008. Worldwide losses grew by 11 percent to $53 billion. Excluding the effect of exchange rates, losses grew by 5 percent to $50.2 billion.
