Resumen
The article reports that global software piracy has become an increasing concern to businesses and software developers throughout the world during the past two decades. For the U.S., which is generally considered the world leader in the software industry, the problem of piracy diminishes revenues and lessens investment in research and development, threatening the long-term viability of this important industry. According to the Software and Information Industry Association, the worldwide revenue of business-based personal computer applications was $21.6 billion in 1999, but global revenue losses due to piracy in the business application software market were calculated at $12 billion. These statistics drew attention not only because the losses attributed to piracy go beyond more than 50% of revenues, but also because the world piracy rates showed an increase for the first time since 1995.