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Amount of Pirated Software per Computer By Country (graph)

economist.com — America and China lead the world in terms of total losses from piracy at $7.2 billion and $5.4 billion respectively. But when calculated according to the number of computers in each country a different picture emerges. Cash-strapped countries dominate the leader board.

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  • FameMoney, on 10/11/2007, -10/+104I bet that this graph is not accurate.
    • nox327, on 10/11/2007, -17/+12Iceland is cash strapped? Bahrain is cash strapped? This is BS if I may say so. There is a different reason to why they steal software. How about opportunity
    • Travisty2012, on 10/11/2007, -8/+153It also doesn't make sense the way they calculate it.

      Hypothetical situation; I have a pirated copy of Photoshop CS3 on my computer. The industry will count this as a $649 loss. However, I would never spend that much on Photoshop and if I was unable to pirate it I would use some crappy free program since I only use it to do minor things a couple times a month.

      Now, if I made a living with it I would obviously purchase it...
    • ACrazyGerman, on 10/11/2007, -44/+11@travisty2012
      Why don't you just get the free one and avoid getting in trouble all together?
      Wait a second this is Digg.... Do what you want cus a pirate is free, YOU ARE A PIRATE!
    • Pic0, on 10/11/2007, -3/+150who wants to buy photoshop to put a friend's head on yoda every few weeks
    • M4tt3r, on 10/11/2007, -4/+80@famemoney

      Yaaarrrr, thar graph is only as accurrrate as thar imforrrmation ye put in. So, it be accurate.

      It be the numberrrs which don't smell right. Arrrr.
    • Bega, on 10/11/2007, -12/+9I'm only digging you up because piracy is on my mind.

      also it amused me.
    • toonworld, on 10/11/2007, -2/+46Somehow, I'm a bit disappointed that my county isn't on that list :'(
    • thcobbs, on 10/11/2007, -4/+7Hell, if you have a pirated OS like XP or Vista, you'd beat those easily.
    • soogy, on 10/11/2007, -4/+19Exactly, travisty2012. It irritates me so much when companies spout out all of this ***** (especially the movie industry (over the past four weeks, the top three films at the box office ALONE have earned $1,465,003,429 worldwide). The fact of the matter is that if people wanted to pay for software, they'd do it.

      If people could not pirate Photoshop CS3, do you know what they'd be doing? Downloading GIMP, Inkscape, or some other free software (they are, by the way, excellent alternatives to commercial software).

      The people who PAY for Photoshop (and other such software) are the people who can afford it (read: people who use it to make money). Those who use it for fun should use free software which works just as well for your needs.
    • arnar, on 10/11/2007, -1/+21My country (Iceland) somehow seems out of place among the others.. but I can well believe that we come in second. We're certainly not cash-strapped.

      In any case, Iceland is usually at the top or bottom of any list that is "per-capita" or similar, for obvious reasons.
    • tmaiden, on 10/11/2007, -3/+28I bet the software used to make that graph was pirated.
    • Solkre, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12It's the same BS where the RIAA thinks every swapped song is lost revenue. People aren't able to afford these products (Photoshop) or don't believe it's worth the cost (Windows); but because it's digital and very easy to copy and share they aren't forced to look for free alternatives.
      If we could control digital media as well as physical products in B&M stores you'd see a much larger Open-Source community and applications.
    • Cerialthriller, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I've never pirated anything that I would pay for if i had to. And a few things I have bought after I pirated it, so they actually gained sales if you ask me. I wouldn't have bought it if I hadn't tried it first.
    • solemnraven, on 10/11/2007, -0/+18the blinking skull means "WE MEAN BUSINESS!"
    • perryge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11How would they have come across these figures? I mean, how do they know how much pirated software is on each computer? It's not as if they have a database of everything that's on everyone's computer, nor do they go around asking everyone, do they? And surely a random sample wouldn't be accurate in this case...

      It would have been nice for there to have been some methodology included with the results.
    • vanarothiel, on 10/11/2007, -12/+2@ travisty2012:
      "I only use it to do minor things a couple times a month"
      If you actually don't need Photoshop, why do you steal it?
    • Spuy767, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8I love how those ***** gobblers at the BSA say that it "cost" the industry a certain amount. When a business pirates software, it may cost the industry a certain amount, but I assure you, that 99.5% of people who download a shady copy of photoshop, would never in a million years been able to cough up the 1500$ for CS3. They inflate the numbers to make it sound like it's a big problem to get a lobby behind them, but it's all *****. The figure is maybe a tenth what they claim, and that's cause I'm being generous.

      @ Vanarothiel: You get photoshop because you want top superimpose a dick on your teacher's head, why else. You just got it to ***** around, but no way would you ever have dropped real money on it, cause you need things like food more.
    • mal1964, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1@cerialthriller

      "I've never pirated anything that I would pay for if i had to"

      "And a few things I have bought after I pirated it"

      Huh, that's a head scratcher
    • init100, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4@ACrazyGerman

      "Why don't you just get the free one and avoid getting in trouble all together?"

      Maybe because you don't get in trouble for pirating software? Sure a few flagrant cases are brought too court to make an example of, but most people (in my jurisdiction at least) figure that the risk of getting sued is infinitesimal (smaller than tiny).

      @perryge

      "How would they have come across these figures? I mean, how do they know how much pirated software is on each computer? It's not as if they have a database of everything that's on everyone's computer, nor do they go around asking everyone, do they?"

      They make up an "average" number of commercial applications that the "average" computer owner has on their computer, multiply by the number of computers sold, and then subtract the number of applications sold. The rest is claimed to be lost to "piracy". This also means that people using free software are counted as "pirates". But I guess that is part of the agenda.
    • bradleyland, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1To everyone spouting, "If I couldn't pirate Photoshop, I'd just use GIMP," why don't you just use GIMP? I'm just asking.
    • snorri, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2@ Arnar & nox:

      Iceland is not cash-strapped?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita
      IMF lists Iists Iceland at 5th out of 170+ countries.

      I'm Icelandic and most Icelanders have too much money for their own good. Many Icelanders go to the US to do their christmas shopping for chrissakes.
    • spritom, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Hmmm...using that logic...

      * Premise: I want a Lamborghini Murcielago
      * Premise: I would pirate me a Murcielago (yarrrr)
      * Premise: I was unsuccessful (probably because the DRM is in Italian)
      * Conclusion: I automatically purchase a Murcielago

    • arnar, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@snorri: Huh? Yes.. Iceland is definately not cash-strapped and your link proves so. You know "strapped for cash" means you have _little_ money. ( http://www.answers.com/topic/strapped )

    • pailsOfGrease, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4@arnar
      Icelandic pirates are diamond thieves in a world of shoplifters ;)
    • Cerialthriller, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@mal1964

      what i meant was that i would have never tried the stuff in the first place if i had to pay for it off the bat. Like eh, that game looks like junk, but mind as well try it since its free. Oh, it turns out that it kicks ass, then i go buy it so i can get the updates and working online play. For instance, battlefield 2, i checked that out and played on a few patched servers, liked it, so i bought a legit copy so i didnt have to dick around with fake servers.
    • SambekZX, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I can't believe Korea is not on the list. Computer vendors there load PC's with all sorts of pirated software as part of their "customer service".
    • snorri, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2lol, my bad arnar.
    • Odiumjunkie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1> To everyone spouting, "If I couldn't pirate Photoshop, I'd just use GIMP," why don't you just use GIMP? I'm just asking.

      Because I'd rather use Photoshop. Once you accept that you're not going to buy the damn thing under any circumstances, there's no reason not to pirate it, so if you have a mild preference for it over the GIMP, you use Photoshop.

      Add to that the fact that any skills you learn in the GIMP are going to be useless in 99% of workplace environments you ever encounter, whereas skill with Photoshop might be an asset, and you have a pretty compelling reason to pirate Photoshop instead of using the GIMP. In fact, if you accept the premise that no revenue is lost because you wouldn't have bought Photoshop if you couldn't pirate it, then it works out in Adobe's interests for you to pirate it rather than using a FOSS alternative, as any skill you develop with it will be an encouraging factor for any future employers you have to purchase it. Sure, you aren't going to buy it, but if you work at $SOFTWAREHOUSE and mention to your boss that you know your way around Photoshop when they're considering renewing their $GRAPHICSSOFTWARE license, that's potentially going to net Adobe some revenue.

      It's a little like going over to a friends house to watch a pay-per-view football game on a huge HDTV, and being told that you're stealing revenue from Sky Sports and HDTV manufacturers.

      You reply "Well, I'm not really, because if I don't care enough about football or TV to spend much money on them. If I couldn't watch the match on my friend's HDTV, I'd watch the highlights for free on my tiny ten-year-old TV at home."

      You're then asked "Well, if you're happy with the highlights on a small TV, why come over to your friends house in the first place to watch the game on a huge TV?"

      Well, it's obvious - because at $0, watching the game on an HDTV is a very attractive prospect, and you're not costing anyone anything. At the cost of premier cable TV + a large HDTV, it's not an attractive prospect at all.

      At $0, I'll use Photoshop. If Photoshop costs me $600, I'll use the GIMP.
  • Niallgriff, on 10/11/2007, -27/+1and i Bet that most of these countries are not First world and don't matter
    • SteveMax, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14And I bet you're an ignorant, arrogant bastard and you don't matter.
  • nreisan, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2like to know where they got this 'big brother' information from lol
    • hrvatski, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1software piracy is no cause for you to lol
    • nreisan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6blatent crap FUD from them makes me lol
      not software piracy

      if they had remotely accurate way of telling who had what pirated software on their computer, there would be a lot more people getting ***** over.

  • tmaiden, on 10/11/2007, -1/+67And I thought with my computer alone, US would have made the list.
    • Prysorra, on 10/11/2007, -2/+43"and cost the industry $39.6 billion"

      In other words, saved the consumers $39.6 billion.
    • oriondarkwood, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7@tmaiden

      I know I have thrown out more pirated stuff than some people pirate in thier lifetimes.. I think I fiqured it up one time and I think if I got the max penalty for each piece of pirated software, movies, games,pdf's, comics, pictures, etc.. etc.. I would owe around 2 billion dollars and have about 35,000 years in jail..
    • yenster, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12@oriondarkwood

      But with good behavior, you'd probably get out in only 28,000 years.
    • unseenvision, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1dito.
    • apolloandi, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1yeah seriously, windows xp, adobe cs3 suite, reason, cubase, all my audio plugins ect ect....I think last time i totaled it up i was somewhere around $5000 dollars
    • jimmiss, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Yeah I know what you mean. The problem with their math is, there is NO damn way I'd buy every Photoshop version as it came out, just because once a year I like to remove a smudge from some picture, or try to make a cool wallpaper every six months. Actually, I never would have heard of photoshop if you couldn't crack it, and no one I've ever met would have ever heard of it eigther. The verb 'to photoshop' something would not exist, because basically no one outside of graphic designers would have heard of it.
  • pjbrown88, on 10/11/2007, -1/+48Because we all know that Azerbaijan is the biggest threat to corporations the world has ever seen...
    • tmaiden, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2@oriondarkwood

      I was thinking the same thing at one point. I remember all the different programming programs I had at one point; you know what I mean. The MS Visual Studio Enterprise Architech Professional Edittion 2007 .NET (LOL). And I never even thought of all of the movies and mp3s. Let alone if you read the FBI warning about the $250,000 fine and 5 yrs in prision. Owe and don't forget the Nero 50 Pack of Programs you never use, you just downloaded it becase it had the largest installer.
  • kryptonite514, on 11/10/2007, -0/+21I'm sure that graph is horribly inaccurate. It's also inaccurate to assume that if I have Adobe Photoshop pirated on my computer Adobe is losing that revenue. If it wasn't possible for me to pirate their software I still wouldn't buy it, so they really aren't losing any money from me.
    • shakin, on 10/11/2007, -2/+35Not only aren't they losing money from you, they are benefiting by having somebody learn their software. Now if you get a job where you need to do some photo editing you will request Photoshop because it's the one you know and Adobe will get a sale. If you couldn't pirate Photoshop and instead learned The GIMP you would likely just install that at work because you know how to use it to get the job done.

      Most expensive business software works the same way. Nobody would ever buy it for casual home use, but at work they choose to buy what they've already learned.
    • kevincannon, on 10/11/2007, -10/+6"I don't want it to be wrong, therefore it's not"


      Buy Photoshop Elements, which is designed for home users or the free editors, Photo.Net or GIMP.
    • arnar, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I'm quite sure that Adobe (and others) fully realize this. They could easily put in great extra measures to prevent key- and activation-code generators from working - but they don't. It's still illegal of course to steal the software .. but they don't go after home-users using their apps for non-profit work as hard as they could, exactly because they know that it's ultimately in their advantage.

      It's wrong thought that you're "not pirating" because you wouldn't have bought it otherwise... it's still stealing.
    • vanarothiel, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2If it wasn't possible for me to get to this house, I wouldn't rob it.
    • TheRingo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@ kevincannon

      "I know it's wrong, but not in the same way they say it is, therefore it doesn't bother me" would be more accurate as far as I can see. I think most people will agree that pirating software is at least slightly morally objectionable, but not enough so as to prevent them from doing it. I know it's wrong, I simply don't care because, as many people have pointed out, the best reason for not doing it (i.e. cheating the company that makes my precious software out of revenue, a.k.a. the only reason that would cause me to stop) is basically invalid.
    • Odiumjunkie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1> Buy Photoshop Elements, which is designed for home users or the free editors, Photo.Net or GIMP.

      If I can't pirate Photoshop, I'll use the GIMP. Explain to me why me using the GIMP is better for Adobe than me using a pirated version of Photoshop.
  • Crispin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3The BSA's numbers have always been suspect.
  • dsmx, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5How many times must I repeat this piracy of software or anything for that matter costs the respective industries nothing. People who get pirated materials would not of paid the full price for the product there after in the first place, or some people download a pirated version to see if it is worth getting a real version. Bottom line is that people will pay for content they think is worth it, if people pirate your product it because they either seeing if it's worth getting, think your charging to much for it or would of never paid for your product ever.
    • PJBonoVox, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5I agree. I know most of the expensive software on my machine is illegal, so I have no qualms with the law, but they can't pretend it is costing them money.
    • acomj, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8I disagree..

      There is a point at which people will pirate software they wouldn't buy, clearly this is the case.
      There are those who decide they got it for free, they like it and they just don't buy it. So there is some loss incured. Is that loss greater than the free promotional value? I'd say yes.

      Software is a funny business, the first copy cost a ton to make (development), the next one cost almost nothing (duplication). Volume is everything (see microsoft profits). However the cost of software packages doesn't drop over time to reflect that economic reality. Its almost as if the economic system doesn't handle it well.

      I've seen a lot of pirated software around the world, it always strikes me as odd the selection available (who is buying autocad or maya off the street? Seriously business apps that have no entertainment value to the consumer)


      I was told to put away my camera after this shot.
      http://www.plocp.com/images/vista_MG_3800.jpg
    • Cerialthriller, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2i downloaded autocad and inventor while i was in school learning them cuz the school was teaching on out-dated versions so i had to teach myself the new features. Inventor provides that same amount of entertainment value as photoshop if you know how to use it even though its a business app.
  • Fingerbob, on 10/11/2007, -1/+16a copy of a commercial software program does not equal a lost sale of said program.

    spurious graphs are always improved by use of pictures of the jolly roger.
  • fontvirus, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0lol....
  • tehpyro, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8I love how canada is always free and clear! We average at the most computers per household in the world and everything is pirated here and no one ever says a word! Mind you I do buy all of my software or go open source (Yay! Open source world!!) but I'm just saying how funny it is!
    • argusbargus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Take off, eh? Speak for yourself, you hoser. I downloaded the chart, 'cause I think it's worth a couple of bucks.
  • yaosio, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Their numbers assume that if somebody had not pirated the software, they would have bought it.
  • synapticcleft, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I hate when they assume that every piece of pirated software on a computer accounts for lost sales. That is nonesense and is only used to inflate the "problem". I would also argue that pirates are some of the most sophisticated computer users, who have lots of people asking them for advice in terms of software and games and they are in a position to offer their valuable advice, thereby leading to potential sales.
  • linkin1, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1china makes softwares?

    anyone got a list?
    • valehru, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Quite a lot of software is made in China! Actually I would say more is made here than anywhere else in the world apart from India. Isn't outsourcing and cheap labor fantastic?
    • pr5owner, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0d00d everything is made in china, china is actaully taking everyones money, sure its cheap, but whe 99.9% of everything comes from there, it doesnt matter.

      its like on 24, china will exceed everyone with a couple years time.
    • psg188, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1China isn't passing anyone, they are simply catching up... you do know china isn't a 1st world country yet.

      A great example is the Three Gorges Dam, engineers around here use it as the perfect example of how NOT to build a dam.
  • nreisan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2their making assumptions not only on how much pirated software people have, but also assuming that users NEED this pirated material and would buy it otherwise, what they fail to relise is that most people dont need *insert adobe program* *insert CAD* *insert office program* they will do without or use a free alternative, in some cases yes people would buy it, but to assume it for all is tsk tsk tsk

    you know the saying
    "Assumptions are the mother of all *****"
  • valehru, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Pure and utter crap! 1.4 billion people in China. Although not all of them can afford a computer I can definitely say that since I came out here in 2005 I have not seen any personal computers containing legit copies of any software. Even when you buy a laptop here they automatically put pirated software onto it straight away!

    The larger corporations are complying with legit software in the workforce but barely. The last software company I worked with her had about a 60% compliance ratio. Anyhow, I proclaim this article FUD!
    • Travelsonic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I always wondered.... how do the companies come up with these "losses"?
    • voidvector, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I am a little surprised why China didn't make the list either.

      I know they are getting better in recent years. Retail computer companies like Dell, Lenovo, and Founder are all selling PCs with OEM Windows and OEM software. Like in US, non-techie are buying computers from them instead of building one. Some of popular Chinese software, such as "WPS Office" (a competitor of Microsoft Office in China), are now offered as free download to home use.

      Nevertheless, I can assure you that movie piracy are still rampant.
  • SenorFrog21, on 10/11/2007, -5/+6I love how everyone here finds very simple ways to justify the fact they are stealing software.

    I really like the "i'm just trying it out, and if I like it, I will GLADLY pay for it". I call *****.

    I definintely agree that the numbers are WAY inflated, because the majority of people pirating things would not have purchased the software anyway, but how can you still say that it's right to steal it? How can you not see that it's stealing? Sometime took the time to make something. They put it up for sale. You take it and use it without paying for it. How is that not stealing?

    And if you want it enough that you are going to take the time to download it and then physically USE it, how can you say for sure that wouldn't have purchased it?
    • Travelsonic, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3"I really like the "i'm just trying it out, and if I like it, I will GLADLY pay for it". I call *****"

      Just because you fail to see how it is possible does not, by any stretch of the imagination, make it impossible.

      " Sometime took the time to make something. They put it up for sale. You take it and use it without paying for it. How is that not stealing?"

      Becuause simply put, that criteria is not accurate.

      Whether talking legalities or moralities we do need to be clear, but there is a common element I will say: The definition of stealing being the way you put it is too broad and inaccurate.

      Legally, it requires loss of a physical good, or of the time doing a service (I think that's the logic, adjustments needed of Theft of Services) that they had and arew punished differently than copyright infringement, morally - we learn it through that same premise that they lose something they had, hence the conundrum when you apply the scenario to the theft of physical goods.

      Physical goods and data are different, by no doubt the morality can stilll be questionable, but as a matter of facts, the difference is obvious.
    • SenorFrog21, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I hear what you are saying, and I don't disagree that the theft of physical goods and data is different.

      But are you really trying to say that just because you download something you aren't stealing it? If you walk into Best Buy and steal a PSP game off the shelf or you simply sit at your computer and download a copy of the same game...either way you are playing a game that you didn't pay for. How can people justify the latter just because they didn't physically steal a UMD disk?
    • arjie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I agree. Out of curiosity, though, is it fair to take another person's photographs and put your name on it and claim it is yours? Suppose you do that on a host with no ads. You get no profit, that person loses nothing tangible, and if you couldn't have done it, you would not have done it. Or someone else's article, you put it up on your site with your name at the end, no ads, that person loses nothing tangible. Would that be fair then?

      For the record, I do not use pirated software.
    • Travelsonic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2"I agree. Out of curiosity, though, is it fair to take another person's photographs and put your name on it and claim it is yours? Suppose you do that on a host with no ads. You get no profit, that person loses nothing tangible, and if you couldn't have done it, you would not have done it. Or someone else's article, you put it up on your site with your name at the end, no ads, that person loses nothing tangible. Would that be fair then?"

      Of course not, but isn't the comparison of pirated software and plagiarism apples to oranges, at least to some degree?
    • thedragon4453, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I disagree with the statement about people not downloading to try out softare. personally, if I am going to spend $1000 on photoshop, I want to know that I like it first.

      second, this is much more common with music. I will quite often hear a single somewhere that I like, download the whole album, and if it is worth it I buy it. I dont want to pay $15 for one freaken song. The same for software.

      Although, because of the prices ($160 for vista home prem, $200+ for a decent ms office suite, $1000 for photoshop, a jillion dollars for music software) i usually try to find an open source or free alternative. if the foss alternative is non existant, or just crap (sometimes with the audio software, although open office, and gimp easily replace my need for ms office and photoshop) then i might download.

      in either case though, im not giving the company that much for software. if there were no gimp, that doesnt mean that i would just cough up the money for photoshop, it just means i would have ***** choices for digital imaging, or pirate a copy.
    • SenorFrog21, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1But I really don't think after pirating a copy of Photoshop and deciding that you like it that you are going to go to the store and buy a copy. Let's get real. You've already downloaded it, so why not just keep it, right?

      And if you hear a song you like, you can buy it for 99 cents - there is no need to pirate a copy of the entire album.

      You act like it's your right to "try before you buy". Before everything was digital, did you ever take a copy of a CD from Musicland, listen to it at home, and then decide if you want to go back to the store and pay for it?
    • arjie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@travelsonic: It's true, they're hardly related.I was just thinking about the reasons given for software piracy could as well apply to copying someone else's work without honouring their licence or their copyright, because that's what piracy is after all: "Copying someone else's work without honouring either licence or copyright.".
  • st0nes, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'm surprised to see Botswana in there; they have quite strong IP laws...
  • zirqle, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Every copies of XP and Frozen Throne in my campus dorm ( we have 20k undergrads who are living in campus dorm, most own a computer of some sort, and if you are a guy, you play WC3) are pirated, even the PS copies in the computer library are pirated too (I was there when they installed them), and I am disappointed China isnt on the list!!
  • niczar, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7My work computer has negative $100 of pirated software -- Microsoft owes me money for the copy of Vista it was shipped with, that I replaced with Linux as soon as I received it.
  • Kwipper, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Come on! We are not even on this list!? Man that sucks. Come on USA, lets get going here and pirate more stuff!
  • DeFex, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1"losses from piracy"
    how do they count that? say i have a program on my computer that costs $100 which i would otherwise do without. is that a $100 "loss to piracy"
    in which case they are total morons.
    if i do have it, than one day the boss at work asks i f i know a good program to do x, and i say yeas this one is pretty good, why don't you buy it.
    it is a GAIN FROM PIRACY

    AAArrrrrr
  • skeeve, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1So, according to http://www.aneki.com/computers.html, this means that the average USA computer only has ~= $43.80 worth of pirated content on it. So theoretically, if this were some kind of Government that have money directly to businesses... if taxes were raised by that amount (pretty negligeable I'd say), the government could settle all these stupid RIAA suits.
  • vinieux, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0No China? No India?
  • OSDesign, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Lucky software doesn't work on a pay-per-view (or use) basis, yet ;-).

    Why don't you ever get graphs about how much money is made because of pirated software?n How many people learned photoshop on a pirated version, before they become professionals. The same goes for the expensice 3D stuff. Why do you think Maya is available in a free learning edition? If you can't beat 'm, join 'm. Arrr.
  • ripstuntz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Are you kidding me? Switzerland isn't even on there... isn't that the home of ThePirateBay???? That should at least count for 30% of all pirated software distributed in the past few years.....
  • nreisan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Botswana is 12th on the list.

    Population estimate: 1,639,833 (2006)

    so what like are all the warez sites hosted in this country or something? lol
  • Niteryder, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Such demographics (statistics) would be physically impossible to attain, short of committing criminal break in, of all those computers
    in all of those countries mentioned. There are large botnet's that harvest files, that are illegal, that originate in other countries, that originate
    in other countries on zombie computers so this is a crock of worthless sh*t. I also have watched events for over 10 years to understand
    the problem with some degree of expertise.
  • rarson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This is considered an article? It's not only dumb, it might as well be false.

    First of all, categorizing piracy by software per computer by country is absolutely useless, and one look at this graph makes that very self-evident. Secondly, with absolutely no explanation of how these numbers were arrived at, it might as well be completely inaccurate.
  • bmson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Iceland is the odd one out :/

    Iceland is on of the wealthiest nations in the world and Icelandic homes have on of the highest incomes in the world.
    So it's not about money.

    We have the highest broad band penetration in the world and 89% of households have computers, 84% have Internet access and 9/10 of these homes have adsl (or another dsl connection).
    It's easy to steal software when you have high speed Internet and the knowledge.

    But I think it has more to do with our society.
    We are ultra-modern and like innovative thing, but we are an Island and Iceland is not on the top of tech companies list to release new products and services.
    We don't have iTMS but a lot of Icelanders use the US iTunes, we use the s store on xbox 360 and ps3 (that illegal).
    We like our stuff now and if we don't get it now, we will steal it :/

    But I could be totally wrong...
    Maybe we've just dominating viking DNA and like to rob thins :D
    • Eryin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Dugg for the use of the word "Penetration"

      Also: Shocked that China isn't on the list.
  • dudemicro, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This article really puts a dent in the credibility of The Economist, IMHO.

    One of the biggest conclusions of the article is utterly false - "Cash-strapped countries dominate the leader board"? Since when are OPEC members like Qatar (#7) cash-strapped?? Iceland doesn't do too badly, either, nor does Venezuela or Indonesia (both OPEC members). Oman (#3), Bahrain (#4) are flush with oil - and money. These countries are home to the rich sheiks with the gold Mercedes, and they're called cash strapped?

    They cited the BSA, known around the world as a shill for the established software industry - and not the little developers, either. The BSA is the author of those radio ads "The BSA is coming soon to your area... it only takes one complaint and your company could be the target of a BSA investigation". The same ilk as the MPAA/RIAA. Not mentioned in the article, of course - it's simply called "an industry group".

    Lastly, The Economist apparently republished the BSA's "findings" without questioning the method of tallying the data - or even its source. It's simply an article that parrots whatever the BSA wants to plant. That's the same tactic that the National Enquirer and other tabloids use - they are simply reporting that someone else is _saying_ this - they are not alleging it's true. Therefore, if it turns out to be inaccurate, or biased, the author and publication is held blameless - they were just repeating what someone else said.

    This belongs on the supermarket rack next to "I married Bigfoot".
  • billizm, on 10/11/2007, -1/+475% of statistics are made up.
  • YumZ, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Someone needs to fork firefox and take it back to its roots. The current bloatfest is getting rather annoying.
  • jull1234, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4I recently removed my last piece of pirated software from my PC. All a part of actually growing up, I suppose.
  • IamTheProfessor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Go Iceland! Go for the GOLD!
  • mehan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Is this the most useless baseless stats ever? How the ***** would they know how much pirated software is on a computer in ***** Azerbaijan?
  • loper, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2They must mean this is how much pirated software is coming on a brand new computer, it obviously is a much higher dollar amount once a customer gets his hands on it...

    Don't they?
  • Caerbannog, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Stupid rhetoric about "losses" due to piracy ticks me off... Most of the so-called losses aren't losses at all, but instances in which the person using the pirated software never would have bought it anyway.
  • oojamaflip2006, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Its an interesting paradox which was hinted at higher up in the comments:

    If a software company pursued all cases of illegal copyright infringement, would it cause a massive shift to free (ie open source) software alternatives thus eroding the same software company's market share? Do the software companies actually benefit from piracy in this way as a kind of 'buffer' between paying customers and keeping high market share for their product?
  • tyfighter, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0"As indicated by this graph, our bar is clearly bigger than your bar."
  • JackSpratts, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1lazy western pirates have gotten too soft. c'mon mateys, we can do better than this!

    - js.
    • zmigliozzi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Hey I'm doing my part : P cough of ~1000 azer-whatevers. Yes go ahead call me a pirate, I'd steal air if it was for sale as long as there was an easy and safe way to do it.
  • bolocholo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6i energically protest the use of the word "steal" on the act of digital file sharing
  • Th3_anOmoLy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Azerbia-who?
  • zmigliozzi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1$262... I laugh at you. ARRRRR!!!!!
  • slapthemonkey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Sure, this graph is authentic?
  • Sendss, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Saying "we lost $X" is bogus because they assume that people would have otherwise bought the software. In most cases that just isn't true.
  • shafiq, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1what about my country, malaysia?

    malaysia boleh!
  • Sn00ty, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0surprising.
  • dark2025, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2The way they calculate this is just plain incorrect. When I obtain a pirated application / game, it's because of several reasons: I don't care enough for the program to be buying it (I'll take it if it's there, but I won't pay for it, and I don't care if I don't really get it); it's way too expensive for me to buy and I'd rather go with a free alternative if I didn't have access to the program; I'll use the pirate version as a demo (I've actually been impressed enough to buy programs that I thought I wouldn't after using a pirated version); I'll just use the pirated one until I can afford to buy the real program; and probably more reasons too, but for programs that I absolutely want and enjoy, I always buy; same with movies, I'd download the ones I won't want to see anyway, and again, I'd buy it if I actually am impressed enough with it.
    Sure I know a lot of people who have access and use pirated software/movies, in fact I have a full binder of bootlegged DVDs, but it's because I'm not expecting to be buying them anyway, although they would claim that they lost hundreds of dollars in lost revenue, which is simply untrue. If anything, my downloading everything that comes along might even help their business since I'm constantly finding new things that are buy-worthy that otherwise I would never have touched. Plus I'm stimulating the rest of the economy by employing hard drive manufactures, blank CD/DVD makers, software protection people, internet provider, and my downloading service.
    • rarson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Using their logic, if I were to pay $10 for a DVD (or $3 for a rental of one), and it sucks, then I am owed compensation in the form of quality entertainment, since I paid for it.

      Lately, I've been picking up a lot of movies at the rental store which look decent on the box but suck extreme ass. Even big box office titles, like Babel. That movie was such utter drivel that I deserve to get paid for watching it all the way through.
  • crenk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0wow i didnt think piracy was that much.

    www.crenk.com
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