China Should Do More to Curb Software Piracy in Economic Talks, Says BSA

Previous commitments have not produced tangible results

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- High-level strategic and economic talks between the United States and China starting today present a critical opportunity for the Chinese government to demonstrate its commitment to curbing rampant software piracy, the Business Software Alliance said.

The third meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) is being held today and tomorrow, May 9–10, in Washington, DC. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will lead a US delegation in talks with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

"Four out of five software programs installed on personal computers in China continue to be pirated," said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman. "This represents commercial theft of nearly $8 billion a year. China's commitments to curb piracy have simply failed to produce results. BSA members, including many of the largest software producers in the world, have seen no significant increase in sales to China. The Obama administration's trade and economic team should continue pressing China to reduce software piracy in a way that produces real results."

"President Obama has made a strong commitment to stopping enterprise software piracy, because it is a bane on one of America's leading industries, unfairly skewing trade and competition," Holleyman said. "US businesses in all industries compete daily with otherwise legal companies in China that are stealing the software that drives their manufacturing or helps run their business. The unfair competitive advantage that results is harming businesses in every sector of the US economy."

"China has committed to ensuring that all of its government agencies use only legally purchased software, and it has announced pilot projects to promote that practice in state-owned enterprises, but we are not seeing tangible results."

About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the world's foremost advocate for the software industry, working in 80 countries to expand software markets and create conditions for innovation and growth. Governments and industry partners look to BSA for thoughtful approaches to key policy and legal issues, recognizing that software plays a critical role in driving economic and social progress in all nations. BSA's member companies invest billions of dollars a year in local economies, good jobs, and next-generation solutions that will help people around the world be more productive, connected, and secure. BSA members include Adobe, Altium, Apple, Autodesk, AVEVA, AVG, Bentley Systems, CA Technologies, Cadence, CNC/Mastercam, Compuware, Corel, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Intel, Intuit, Kaspersky Lab, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, PTC, Progress Software, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, and The MathWorks.

SOURCE Business Software Alliance