Calif. Again Heads Software Piracy List
California is the nation’s high-tech capital, and for the second year in a row it topped the list of states with companies caught using illegally copied software.
California firms were caught with $1.3 million in pirated software in 1998, according to the Business Software Alliance, a Washington trade group that represents software developers. Texas came in second, with illegal software valued at $713,000.
New York, Illinois and Michigan rounded out the top five. But on a per-capita basis, Michigan and Illinois both ranked ahead of California for software piracy.
Altogether, the Business Software Alliance collected about $8 million last year from U.S. companies that were caught with illegal copies of software. Those investigations usually begin when a current or former employee calls the BSA’s anti-piracy hotline.
The high dollar value of piracy settlements in the Golden State means there are probably more scofflaws here than anywhere else. But it also reflects well on Californians because it shows they are serious about enforcing anti-piracy laws, said BSA spokeswoman Diane Smiroldo.
“California is certainly more computer-focused,” she said. “We get more hotline calls from people there, so we have more opportunity to go in and correct the problem.”
