The Tech Industry Talks Tough on Piracy

A trade group for tech companies wants to remind you that software gets pirated, too.

While most headlines have lately focused on the kind of piracy that takes place on the high seas, the Business Software Alliance launched a campaign Monday to draw attention to people selling illegal copies of its members’ products.

Nearly 40 percent of software is pirated, meaning that the person using it either copied it illegally or bought it from an unauthorized dealer, according to the BSA, whose members include Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and IBM (IBM). The victims of software piracy aren’t just multibillion-dollar corporations that lose sales, says Dale Curtis, the alliance’s vice president of communications.

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