Software piracy rate climbs, hits $29 bln globally.

The global trade in pirated software, from knock-off versions of Microsoft Windows XP to Adobe Acrobat, hit nearly $29 billion in 2003, an industry trade body said in its annual survey on Wednesday. Since the Internet boom, software firms and media conglomerates have seen a rapid increase in piracy of their products as online file sharing networks and "warez" trading sites make it easier to exchange all manner of copyrighted material. The Business Software Alliance’s (BSA) new research firm, IDC, estimates the 2003 global piracy rate was 36 percent, roughly 2 percent above the BSA's revised 2002 figure. The BSA's previously reported global piracy rate in 2002 was 39 percent.

Source: Reuters

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