RP to generate 1,000 jobs, P19-B income if piracy is curbed—study

MANILA, Philippines—Over 1,000 jobs will be generated and P19.2 billion added to the economy if software piracy will be reduced in the Philippines by 10 percentage points, an independent study revealed on Tuesday.

The study, titled “The Economic Benefits of Reducing Software Piracy,” conducted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the International Data Corporation (IDC), showed that reducing computer software piracy from 69 percent to 59 percent in a span of four years can create a “ripple effect,” where selling, servicing and supporting original software will result to increased economic activity.

Roland Chan, BSA Senior Director of Marketing for the Asia-Pacific told a news conference that this will translate to higher wages and increased employment, leading to economic growth.

In 2009, the Philippines reported that 69 percent of software programs installed on computers are unlicensed or “pirated.” And by reducing this number, the economic benefits are great, Chan said.

“If you reduce piracy, there’s going to be job gains, increased tax revenues, and better GDP (gross domestic product),” Chan said.

The same study showed that if software piracy reduction can be done at a faster rate, the benefits will be greater.

“The economic benefits can be compounded by reducing software theft at a faster rate,” the study said. “Thus, if the Philippines were to reduce piracy by 10 points over the next two years instead of four, it would boost the economic activity and tax gains further.”

Thirteen Asia Pacific countries were part of the study, which included China, Hong Kong, India, and Japan.

In the Philippines, the study showed that the IT sector is a major contributor to the national economy. In fact, in 2009, the IT sector supported 42,583 high-paying jobs in the country.

“The findings show that concerted action to reduce software piracy in the Philippines should be a priority – sooner rather than later,” the study said.

With this, BSA-IDC has submitted recommendations to the national government, including increased public education about intellectual property, strengthen enforcement of existing laws against piracy, and the creation of “strong and workable” IP enforcement mechanisms as mandated by the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of the IPR Agreement.

Founded in 1988, BSA is a non-profit organization that promotes growth of the software industry. Aside from the 13 countries in the Asia Pacific region, 29 other countries from across the world were included in the study conducted by BSA-IDC. –Abigail Kwok, INQUIRER.net