Software piracy rate highest in Canada
Glen Vienneau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 04/00) - Copying someone's computer software may seem like a quick way to upgrade your system.
But the savings may come at a price, warns Northern retailers and the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST).
The unauthorized distribution of software affects retail outlets right on up to software developers and their support staff, program trainers and delivery businesses that ship the software, said CAAST spokesperson Jackie Famulak.
She noted a recent study that showed the incidence of software piracy in the Northwest Territories is above the national average.
An estimated 45 per cent of software in use in the NWT has been pirated, according to the study. The national average is 41 per cent.
CAAST estimates that the piracy cost Northern retailers $688,476 in 1999.
"When one piece of software is purchased and then spread around such a small community, you lose a big chunk of business," said Dave Mills, computer technician of Arctic Digital in Inuvik..
It's always been a problem, as people copy programs from friends and the workplace. The introduction of CD burners, which can make multiple copies, is expected to make the situation even worse.
Don Foshaug, a computer salesman and technician in Fort Smith, is resigned to the fact that people will illegally copy their programs and even download them from the Internet.
There is some risk in doing that, he warned.
"Who's to say it's not going to get a virus on it that's going to destroy your hard drive."
