Chile calculates losses of $202 million dollars in 2008 due to pirated software

SANTIAGO.- The Sixth Annual Study on Software Piracy generated by the International Data Corporation (IDC) and Business Software Alliance (BSA) revealed today that 67% of the software programs used in Chile are illegal copies, commonly referred to as "pirates".

According to the report, Chile is amongst the few countries in Latin America that registered an increase in piracy rates over the last year. While most of the economies in the region managed to lower illegal software levels, Chile –along with Guatemala and Paraguay- reported an increase.

According to the study, Chile lost a total of US$ 202 million dollars as a result of software piracy during 2008. In 2007, losses due to the same cause totalled US$ 187 million dollars. Furthermore, the piracy rate was indicated to be at 66%.

"This study confirms that the situation in Chile is regrettable. Half of the countries in the world reduced piracy rates over the last year. Unfortunately, our country is moving in the opposite direction", explained Rodrigo Bulnes, who is a lawyer and representative in Chile for Business Software Alliance (BSA).