Sri Lanka has recorded a further 2 % drop in its PC piracy rate in 2011, bringing the rate down to 84% from 86% last year, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said this week quoting its 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study.
The only other Asian countries that achieved a similar status in 2011 are Hong-Kong and Vietnam.
“The 2 percentage point drop in the software piracy rate is a clear indicator that efforts within Sri Lanka to improve the levels of awareness and adherence to intellectual property rights are effective. We are certainly on the right path, as the country journeys towards creating a more vibrant IT industry and a strong offshoring destination for global IT companies,” noted Shalini Ratwatte, Consultant to the BSA Sri Lanka Committee.
Globally, the study found that piracy rates in emerging markets tower over those in mature markets — 68 % to 24 %, on average — and emerging markets account for an overwhelming majority of the global increase in the commercial value of software theft. This helps explain the market dynamics behind the global software piracy rate, which hovered at 42 % in 2011 while a steadily expanding marketplace in the developing world drove the commercial value of software theft to $63.4 billion.
“Software piracy persists as a drain on the global economy, IT innovation and job creation,” said BSA president and CEO Robert Holleyman. “Governments must take steps to modernize their IP laws and expand enforcement efforts to ensure that those who pirate software face real consequences.” |
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