Nearly half the world's personal computers use software that is pirated. In India, it's worse. Only about one third of the software sold is genuine, according to Business Software Alliance (BSA), a trade group representing some of the largest software makers, including Microsoft and Adobe.
If the numbers remain alarmist, you only need to visit the country's largest technology market, Nehru Placein New Delhi. Its notoriety as a haven of software piracy was articulated by the US last month and it's easy to see why.
At first glance, a first-time visitor to Nehru Place might feel misguided. There's nothing technology about it. Street hawkers swamp the two main lanes alongside rows of shops, selling fake branded clothes, watches, shoes, utility items, and what have you. Cut through them to reach the stores selling computers, tablets, smart phones and just about any kind of software.
But even before you can enter any of them, 19-year-old Inder Kumar, boyish and street-smart, accosts with a seven-page catalogue. It's literally an A to Z of software, from Adobe to Z-Brush (a digital art software).
And he promises to sell them, at prices cheaper than a pair of boxers. He is all mouth even as his eyes dart around for cops and flying squads from Microsoft.
If the numbers remain alarmist, you only need to visit the country's largest technology market, Nehru Placein New Delhi. Its notoriety as a haven of software piracy was articulated by the US last month and it's easy to see why.
At first glance, a first-time visitor to Nehru Place might feel misguided. There's nothing technology about it. Street hawkers swamp the two main lanes alongside rows of shops, selling fake branded clothes, watches, shoes, utility items, and what have you. Cut through them to reach the stores selling computers, tablets, smart phones and just about any kind of software.
But even before you can enter any of them, 19-year-old Inder Kumar, boyish and street-smart, accosts with a seven-page catalogue. It's literally an A to Z of software, from Adobe to Z-Brush (a digital art software).
And he promises to sell them, at prices cheaper than a pair of boxers. He is all mouth even as his eyes dart around for cops and flying squads from Microsoft.
A Delhi Police cop is approaching, and as he nears, Kumar flees, snatching the catalogue. When the cop is gone, Kumar is back, keen to strike a deal. Boys like Kumar, about 300 of them, are all over Nehru Place, earning Rs 150 a day by selling pirated software. About a year back, they were more rooted -- they operated from benches just outside the computer stores.
A police swoop put an end to that, but not to piracy -- the boys move around. In the last five years, efforts by piracy watchdog Business Software Alliance (BSA) and industry players, including Microsoft and Adobe, has lowered software piracy in India by 7 percentage points to 64%.
That is, 64 out of 100 softwares sold are pirated, against 71 in 2006. But because of more computers being sold, the value of pirated software has more than doubled during the same period, from $1.27 billion to $2.73 billion.
It's why last month the office of the US trade representative (USTR) listed Nehru Place as among the 30 most notorious IT markets in the world that infringe on intellectual property rights ( IPR).
Besides Nehru Place, an earlier USTR report released in February had mentioned Richie Street and Burma Bazaar in Chennai; Manish Market, Heera Panna, Lamington Road and the Fort District in Mumbai; and Chandni Chowk in Kolkata on the list. A high arbitrage -- difference between original and pirated software -- and weak enforcement give them reason to flourish.
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