Australia, it seems, is a nation of pirates - certainly software pirates. Incredibly, a third of all business PC software is illegal. Now the industry has launched a campaign to combat the high level of theft of intellectual property - starting with a software truce that begins in two weeks. Manufacturers are also calling for tougher legislation. But as Tracy Bowden reports, this is one battle that won't be solved with the click of a mouse.
Intellectual property is valuable, just like physical property.
We don't allow the wholesale theft of cars. Put simply, instead of buying a program, it's copied. In a matter of minutes the contents are downloaded from the original or the Internet onto disc. Now the industry wants to crack down on the pirates. Now I guess a lot of people don't see it as a crime, they don't see it as theft.