Software piracy levels in various countries in the West, East and Central African (WECA) region have dropped slightly, according to the fourth Global Piracy Software Study from the IDC. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) recently released the report.
There has been a 1% drop in piracy levels in Botswana, Kenya and Zambia, according to the report.
The decrease, although slight, is mainly thanks to government and industry action in the form of marketing and lobbying at all levels of society on the impact of piracy, says Quentin Boshoff, attorney and director of the BSA`s legal council.
Stephan Le Roux, chairman of the BSA, adds the rapid influx of branded computers, which ship with legitimate software, is taking market share from locally-assembled PCs that can ship without legitimate software.
Abed Hlatshwayo, Microsoft`s anti-piracy manager for East and Southern Africa, notes that, although levels of piracy have dropped, the loss of revenue remains high.
Piracy stood at $201 million in 2006 alone, with piracy levels growing by 80% between 2005 and 2006 across the region.
Mistaken belief
An ongoing effort by government institutions is needed to make individuals and businesses more responsible for software licensing in their operations, says Boshoff.
"There is a misconception that piracy is endemic to street vendors only, but SMEs and other businesses need to subscribe to a healthy software licensing policy."
Curbing piracy is in governments` best interest, as it encourages internal revenues and foreign investment, important to Africa`s growth.
China`s piracy rate has dropped by 10%, resulting in a reduction of piracy-related losses of over $500 million, according to Le Roux.
Foreign companies have been seen to invest in SA due to its progressive anti-piracy and intellectual property protection policies, giving it an advantage over its African counterparts. SA has a 35% piracy rate, says the report.
The report shows five countries in WECA that fall into the top 20 countries with the highest piracy rates worldwide. Zimbabwe ranks fourth (91%), Cameroon ranks 10th (84%), Zambia ranks 14th (82%), Ivory Coast ranks 16th (82%) and Nigeria ranks 18th (82%).
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