Software piracy declined in 2011

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Less than 40 percent of software installed on computers in China was pirated in 2011, a decline of 3 percentage points from the previous year, according to Chinalabs.com, a consulting and research company.

The software piracy rate dropped from 41 percent in 2010 to 38 percent last year, the seventh year that the figure declined, according to data released Thursday by the company, entrusted by the State Intellectual Property Office.

As for categories, information security software piracy declined the most - from 45 percent in 2010 to 39 percent last year - followed by office and operating system piracy, according to the annual report on China's software piracy, conducted by the company.

"China's software piracy rate has been decreasing over the past seven years, which can be seen as a big victory of authorized software across the country," said Wang Junxiu, founder of the company.

The company has cooperated with the office for nearly 10 years by helping the government agency analyze the development of the Internet and crack down on pirated software, Wang said.

The rate of licensed software reached 20 percent last year, according to the report.

As of the end of January, authorized software was being used on all computers of governmental departments in eight provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu, said Zhai Lifeng, an official at the National Copyright Administration.

Licensed software has been popular in large and medium State-owned enterprises in sectors such as tourism, insurance and banking, Zhai said.

As the piracy rate declines, the price of licensed software is rising rapidly, which may tempt some people to return to piracy, said Wang Weihua, an officer at the consulting company.

The price of Office 2010, the popular program designed by Microsoft Corp, went up to 3,349 yuan ($529) from the 2007 version's 2,352 yuan.

Questions:

1. How much software was pirated in China last year?

2. What type of software saw the biggest decline in piracy?

3. What was the rate of authorized licensed software?

Answers:

1. Less than 40 percent of software installed on computers.

2. Information security software, from 45 percent in 2010 to 39 percent last year.

3. 20 percent last year.

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.