Economic Consequences of Software Crime
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In 1996 worldwide illegal copying of domestic and international software
cost $15.2 billion to the software industry, with a loss of $5.1 billion in
the North America alone. Some sources put the total up-to-date losses, due
to software crime, as high as $4.7 trillion. On the next page is a
regional breakdown of software piracy losses for 1994. Estimates show that
over 40 percent of North American software company revenues are generated
overseas, yet nearly 85 percent of the software industry's piracy losses
occurred outside of North America. The Software Publishers Association
(SPA) indicated that approximately 35 percent of the business software in
the North America was obtained illegally. In fact, 30 percent of the
piracy occurs in corporate settings. In a corporate setting or business,
every computer must have its own set of original software and the
appropriate number of manuals...