Fall in software piracy rate

Industry losses through distribution and sale of illegal software are estimated to have reached ?124m in Ireland alone last year, a recent study claims.

The Global Software Piracy Study for the Business Software Alliance claims that piracy in Ireland is decreasing, with 36pc of all software used here pirated in 2006 compared with 37pc in 2005.

Since the introduction of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000, piracy in Ireland has been steadily decreasing, from 56pc in 1999 to its current rate, which is the EU average.