Asian businesses lose USD21b of sales due to software piracy 

(MENAFN) Business Software Alliance (BSA) stated that in 2011, businesses in Asia lost USD21 billion of their sales due to software piracy, compared with USD19 billion a year earlier, reported AP.

The organization said that the highest commercial losses from illegal copying of computer programs in Asia were recorded in China, at USD9 billion, adding that globally, the country ranked second after the US, which lost USD10 billion as a result of software piracy.

It noted that in the period, 60 percent of all software in Asia was pirated, moreover, piracy rate in Indonesia was at 86 percent with USD1.5 billion in lost sales, whereas in China it was at 77 percent, and in India at 63 percent, with an estimated USD2.9 billion in lost sales.

BSA added that in 2011, consumers and firms in China spent an average of USD542 for a new computer; however, they spent under USD9 in legal software programs to operate the device.

It is worth noting that according to its website, BSA is a trade organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It works with international governments to advance the goals of the software industry and their hardware partners. Its global mission is to promote a long-term legislative and legal environment in which the industry can prosper.