Australian software piracy on the decline

New figures from research firm IDC reveal software piracy actually declined during 2009 as vendors began to cut prices and more laptops were sold.

The firm found one in four Australian software installations were found to be unlicensed, with a commercial value of about $610 million, with the piracy rate actually one percentage point lower to 43%.

The company said in a statement the global piracy rate was due to higher instances of piracy in China, India and Brazil. Of the 111 countries studied in the survey, the rate of piracy fell in 54 different nations.

“In last year’s study, IDC posited that the global PC piracy rate had a year or two more to rise before it would peak and begin to show sustained decreases,” the company said.

“The recession may have accelerated that crossover… Piracy in emerging markets dropped by slightly more than one percent. If that pace is sustained next year, it is possible that global piracy will have peaked in 2009.”