As the global market for software continues to grow, international revenue will play an even more important role in our industry's success. The picture is not all rosy, however. Like many industries, software producers face some significant trade barriers. Most of us would never think of shoplifting a box of software from the store, yet many people do not think twice about copying a CD-ROM from a friend or making multiple copies of a program for use in their business. And it is not the victimless crime that so many suppose it to be.
Software theft comes in almost as many forms as software itself.
Another form of software theft is the mass production of counterfeit product, packaging, manuals, and holograms. A tool of unparalleled economic promise, the Internet also threatens to exponentially increase the rate of software theft. Adobe Photoshop, one of our flagship products, is particularly popular with the new breed of cyberpirates. Thankfully, while the software industry is not yet in danger of going out of business, software piracy has taken an enormous and ever-growing toll on our industry's productivity and output. These are questions that we are now able to answer thanks to multi-year study conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers for the Business Software Alliance, which we are releasing publicly today.