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Video game makers warn over piracy
Friday, February 15 2002
by Paula Mythen


As video games become a bigger business around the world, topping cinema box
office sales in the US, piracy has become an increasingly larger problem.



The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), the trade association
representing US computer and video game publishers, said that although
entertainment software sales totaled USD6.35 billion last year, billions of
dollars were lost to software piracy.



The organisation revealed that over USD1.9 billion was lost due to global
software piracy with Korea and China accounting for more than half the total
alone.



The group is due to report its findings to the US government on Friday and along
with other associations that make up the International Intellectual Property
Alliance (IIPA) is to recommend that the government single out more than 50
countries for their failure to stop unauthorised software piracy and protect
intellectual property rights.



The IDSA will stress that total global losses for the entertainment software
industry are significantly higher than USD1.9 billion, as the current study does
not reflect losses incurred in the US, Canada and Western Europe, losses
resulting from Internet downloads or losses in markets where there is not
reliable data.



"There are at least 100 other countries around the globe where there is
virtually no legitimate market for our products due to rampant piracy," said
IDSA president Doug Lowenstein. "It is no exaggeration to say that the growth
of the US video game business is limitless if we can reduce piracy in these
untapped markets to incidental levels."



The IDSA's piracy loss estimates are included in the Special 301 report of the
Washington-based International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) to be filed
with the United States Trade Representative on Friday morning. Under the Special
301 trade law, the US Trade Representative can impose trade sanctions following
an investigation and consultation period.



The IIPA represents America's leading content associations on piracy issues
worldwide, while the IDSA is dedicated to serving the business and public affairs
needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles,
handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet.