The loss of economic value through Intellectual Property (IP) theft, including counterfeiting and piracy, results in millions of lost jobs, with an estimated $750 billion given away in revenue globaly with accompanying health and safety risks accruing from unsafe products. ADEYEMI ADEPETUN in this report examines the need to address the growing software piracy in Nigeria.COUNTERFEITING and piracy have increased substantially over the last two decades. Today, fake and pirated products can be found in almost every country in the world and with virtually in all sectors of the global economy.As policymakers grapple with allocating resources across multiple public policy challenges, better information on the full scope, scale, costs and impacts of counterfeiting and piracy are necessary to ensure appropriate deployment and resources and prioritisation.Estimates of the level of counterfeiting vary but all estimates agree that counterfeiting represents a multi-billion dollar underground economy with hundreds of billions of dollars of counterfeit product being produced every year.Alarmingly, software piracy is on the rise. The global software piracy rate increased three per cent between 2007 and 2008, to 41 per cent. This increase, according to investigations, was driven primarily by double-digit growth in the market for personal computers in developing countries including Nigeria and regions with high piracy rates.According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) in its 2010 Piracy Impact Study, tagged: The economic benefits of reducing software piracy, observed that, more than four out of 10 software programmes installed on personal computers around the world last year were pirated. It noted that most of this unauthorised software use occurs in otherwise legal businesses that may, for example, buy licenses to install a program on 10 PCs but then install it on 100 or 1,000.IDC, the premier global market intelligence firm, explained that in other cases, software piracy involves more overt criminal enterprises selling counterfeit copies of software programs at cut-rate prices, online or offline.According to it, the cumulative impact of all these forms of software theft represents a commercial value of more than $51 billion in 2009, adding that, it was not typically mentioned among the many factors inhibiting economic growth globally, but that, the ripple effects are far-reaching.It explained that, this go beyond the multinational software publishing industry itself to affect distributors and service providers in local markets worldwide, starving them of spending that would create new jobs and generate much-needed tax revenues for governments.In Nigeria, IDC recent software piracy survey conducted indicates that software piracy accounts for a loss of about $100 million (N15 billion) yearly, with a caution that without urgent measures taken to curb this growing trends, lost might increase by 25 per cent by the end of 2013.More succinctly, IDC emphasised that widespread software piracy translates to lost opportunities for the businesses and related sectors that depend on the software industry, especially, the distribution and services sectors. In fact, IDC calculated that the $45 billion worth of unlicensed PC software in the 42 countries covered, Nigeria inclusive, caused total losses of revenue, employment and taxes from related sectors in excess of $110 billion.In the 42 countries covered in this study, the figure came to $45 billionenough to pay for all the computers shipped to China, India and Brazil in 2009, it stated.Already, the International Chambers of Commerce in its 2011 reports stated that without proper clampdown on the nefarious activities of the counterfeit market by various countries, the global piracy and counterfeiting market would surge to $1.7 trillion by 2015.According to software experts in Nigeria, the security risks to individuals, businesses and governments posed by counterfeit and pirated software are significant, increasing and cannot be over-estimated.Besides, a 2009 study by the Business Software Alliance and IDC concluded that countries with high piracy rates, like Nigeria, often have high malware infection rates.According to the study, the impact of using counterfeit software can be serious and costly. The effects of malware can range from annoying advertisements to severe breach of information security. In another recent study by Harrison Group, it revealed that companies using pirated or counterfeit software were 73 per cent more likely to experience loss of or damage to sensitive data and 43 per cent more likely to have critical computer failure lasting 24 hours longer.A raid in Nigeria by the officials of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) recently at the premises of a well-known software reseller in Ikeja, Lagos, resulted in the seizure of suspected high quality counterfeit Microsoft Windows and Office software by the authorities. The investigation is still ongoing.The Director general of NCC, Afam Ezekude was quoted as saying, We must put a stop to the software pirates that trick innocent consumers and small businesses into parting with their hard-earned cash for illegal and, sometimes dangerous, goods. Starting a new business on counterfeit software is like building a house on quick sand.To the General Manager, Anglophone West Africa, Microsoft, Mr. Emmanuel Onyeje, the global information technology industry is a vital driver of economic growth, employing more than 35 million people worldwide and generating an estimated $3 trillion in spending around the globe, by so doing, the need to protect this industry has become very crucial.Onyeje, who spoke at an event organised to mark the World Intellectual Property Day in Lagos at the weekend, said that the protection of Intellectual Property would go a long way in helping to demystify the growing of piracy and counterfeit markets in Nigeria.According to him, Microsoft believes that the global arena needs stronger intellectual property protections in place to safeguard the industrys ability to innovate, level the playing field for small businesses and help local governments generate tax revenue through the legitimate sale of genuine software.In addition to strengthening the economy, sound IP policies can help reduce software piracy and counterfeiting, which threaten legitimate businesses and expose consumers to the risks that come from using fake software. The development tends to thrive in places with weak IP protection, and this has a negative impact on the global economy, he said.Onyeje explained that not only was strong intellectual property protection economically beneficial, consumers are also demanding that the industry and governments take a stand against non-genuine software.He said in a 2010 Microsoft-initiated consumer perception survey of 38,000 consumers in 20 countries, nearly three-quarters of consumers wanted the industry and government to do more to protect them from risks associated with non-genuine software, including identity theft and virus attacks.The Microsoft Nigerias country manager noted that, by a three-to-one margin, consumers agreed that non-genuine software was not as safe to use as genuine software, and respondents named data loss and identity theft among their top concerns.Speaking against the backdrop of the statistics, the Microsoft boss said, consumers and legitimate businesses are asking us to take action and reduce the risks that non-genuine software exposes them to, and we are 100 per cent committed to helping them.Microsoft invests heavily in technologies, education and enforcement programmes to make software piracy more difficult, and we will continue to push for effective IP regulations on behalf of consumers and businesses.To the President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Dr. Chris Uwaje, in a recent chat with The Guardian, the growing global threat of software piracy is one that neither government nor the IT industry can tackle alone.According to him, government and industry cooperation on a range of enforcement and policy issues were crucial to ensuring that officials have the tools they need to address piracy effectively.When industry-government partnerships on IP incentives are strong and sustained the benefits that flow to economies and society are significant, Uwaje noted.Uwaje, who on behalf of its association, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to place priority on indigenous software development in Nigeria in the next four years of his new administration, also advised that strong enforcement against criminal syndicates is another critical building block in an effective global anti-piracy strategy that ought to be adopted.Furthermore, Uwaje, who also lamented the increasing importation of foreign software into Nigeria, an estimate he put at about $1billion yearly, stressed that, we must encourage our own creativity, enhance the school systems in the country, appreciate and reward ingenuity and create an investment friendly environment for business to thrive.In addition to this, Microsoft Nigerias country manager, also stressed that collaboration with international, national, state and local law enforcement on software piracy, would result in raids, seizures and arrests of IP criminals in virtually every country in the world, including many smaller emerging economies that increasingly understand the importance of healthy, legal and technology sector.
Click here to read full news..
