Cutting PC software piracy would create hundreds of thousands of jobs globally, boost economic growth and tax revenues, a report by market research firm IDC has found.The study, which covered 42 countries, found that if each country was to cut software piracy by just ten per cent, it would have the effect of creating 600,000 new jobs globally, as well as $141 billion in new revenue.
"Lower software piracy means more jobs. Software jobs are at the high end of the pay scale in the IT market, and the IT market is at the high end of salaries in the economy," Marcel Warmerdam, research director of IDC IT Markets, told a press conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Speaking to PC Retail, Michala Wardell, head of licensing and anti-piracy for Microsoft, said: "This research highlights the damaging effect software piracy has on the UK economy. Software pirates deny genuine resellers the chance to form relationships with customers who could go on to purchase other services from them.
"The counterfeit software trade destabilises the entire reseller ecosystem and negatively impacts the livelihood of resellers. Business software companies need to ensure the reseller community is aware of the dangers of trading in counterfeit software and the repercussions it has on both software retailers and the UK economy on the whole."
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