Big businesses engaging in software piracy are costing the Irish economy about $45 million in lost sales each year and may threaten future inward investment.
These are the findings of a Price Waterhouse study, commissioned by the Business Software Association (BSA), which found that illegally copied software now accounts for 70 per cent of the total used in Ireland - a figure 27 per cent higher than the western European average.
Ireland is currently the largest exporter of software in Europe, but the new report - The Impact of Software Piracy on Western European Economies - reveals the industry could increase packaged software sales by 40 per cent if piracy came down to the US level of 27 per cent.
This is said to have the potential to generate an additional 258,651 jobs and $37.4 billion in annual sales in the European software sector. The Minister of State for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Mr Kitt, told the BSA the Government will take steps to directly tackle the software piracy issue.
Responding to the report, he said: "This goal will be achieved by the new Copyright and Related Rights Bill. There will be no doubt but that the rights subsisting in software products will be well protected, while infringement and acts of piracy will be severely punishable by the courts."
The copyright laws are currently under review, and a comprehensive new Copyright and Related Rights Bill will be published later this year.
Mr Evan Cox, European legal counsel with BSA Europe, said the current level of piracy is discouraging inward investment by multinational software companies. "There is a perception out there that Ireland has a casual attitude towards intellectual property. This has arisen more and more when speaking to potential investors. There is a very great need for stronger penalties, and the Irish Government must lead by example."
In 1996, the packaged software industry generated $37 billion in sales, 334,181 jobs and $15 billion in tax revenues throughout western Europe. If it continues to grow at the average market growth rate of 10 per cent, the information technology industry will create 426,464 jobs and generate sales of $59.75 billion by 2001.
"If Europe wants to have a strong IT sector, governments, police forces and the judiciary need to fight piracy jointly with well defined tasks," said Ms Emilia Knight, vice president and managing director of BSA Europe.
