New Study by Business Software Alliance Uncovers Alarming Attitudes About Online Piracy; Education, Enforcement Needed to Reverse Damaging Trend

Business Wire, May 29, 2002

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002

More than one third of all American Internet users have downloaded commercial software online, yet have failed to pay for all the copies they have made, according to a survey released today by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The survey of 1,026 Internet users(1) found that nearly half have downloaded commercial software at some time, and that 81 percent of them have failed to pay for all the copies they made. In fact, 57 percent of those who have downloaded software either seldom or never pay for the copyrighted works they download, according to the study conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.

Twelve percent say they have committed software piracy.

"This is the first time we've identified end user attitudes about online theft," said Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of BSA. "And what we found is a disturbing behavioral trend that violates copyright laws and costs billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs every year."

Yet, despite Internet users' behavior, the survey also showed that an overwhelming number - 95 percent - believe software creators should be paid for their work. And 85 percent believe strong intellectual property protections are crucial for protecting the revenues companies depend on to fund research and development.

"This is encouraging. Internet users recognize the value of intellectual property. Now we need to continue our efforts to help them understand that illegal downloads do serious harm to those very companies and developers they believe in protecting," said Holleyman. "Through education, enforcement and policy, I am confident that we can help change these attitudes and create an atmosphere in which strong online copyright protections can flourish."

Though many may not realize they're breaking the law, it's clear that a large number of Internet users who download software make "situational" decisions about whether to pay for it or not. When asked if they would consider downloading a commercial software program to save money - even if it might be an unlicensed or pirated version - almost half of them say it would depend on the circumstances.

Holleyman said this alarming degree of online consumer piracy points to the need for enhanced education and enforcement programs aimed at maintaining a safe and legal online world for both consumers and software creators.

"To reduce the availability of pirated software online, BSA has deployed new tools such as MediaForce's automated solution, which crawls the Web to detect infringing copies of BSA member products," said BSA Vice President of Enforcement Bob Kruger. "For the public at large, education is key to promoting respect for intellectual property online."

BSA recently began using MediaForce's MediaSentry system to patrol the Internet for unauthorized copies of software programs on peer-to-peer systems, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels, Web sites, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) sites and newsgroups.

In the three months since MediaSentry has been incorporated in BSA's enforcement program, more than 8,500 notices have been sent to software infringers' Internet service providers (ISPs) -- 5,200 more notices than BSA sent in all of 2001.

Kruger noted that several factors contribute to the pervasiveness of software piracy online, including the growing number of Internet users, increases in bandwidth and transmission speed, the popularity of Internet auction sites, and the heightened sense of anonymity when consumers commit piracy at home.

"It's clear from this study that while people may understand that software developers depend on licensing fees to create their works, they don't appreciate how their own conduct undermines this creativity," Kruger said. "We need to explain how their actions contribute to lost jobs and lost investment in new and innovative products. A big part of stopping piracy is correcting the misconceptions."

BSA is boosting its education efforts aimed to enlighten users about software ethics and compliance. The organization recently partnered with Weekly Reader to create an educational curriculum about piracy and safe software use for U.S. and Canadian elementary and middle school classrooms.

Last year, BSA was also awarded a federal grant to raise public awareness about cyber crime, with particular emphasis on school-age children.

New Anti-Piracy Tools

Fighting online piracy at the consumer level requires sophisticated tools to reduce the availability of infringing products. Today, BSA formally introduced the newest tool in its arsenal: the MediaSentry investigation system.

This state-of-the-art, Internet-based system, created by MediaForce, allows BSA to expand and manage its investigative efforts more effectively by automating a large portion of its notification and compliance program.

"MediaSentry enhances BSA's online investigations by `crawling' the Internet for infringing copies of BSA member software programs and providing BSA investigators with a comprehensive system for acting upon the results, said Kruger. "The crawler has significantly increased the volume of takedown notices BSA investigators send to infringers' ISPs and has provided valuable insights into the scope and nature of the Internet piracy problem."