“Although piracy of software on personal computers declined in many countries in 2007, fast growing PC markets in some of the world’s highest piracy nations caused overall numbers to worsen—a trend that is expected to continue. Moreover, dollar losses from piracy rose by $8 billion to nearly $48 billion”, the joint IDC and Business Software Alliance (BSA) research note reads.

Russia looks surprisingly well amid this figures. Says BSA: “Among the nations studied, Russia led the way with a one-year drop of seven points to 73%, and a five-year drop of 14 points. Russia’s piracy rate is still high, but it is decreasing at a fast pace as a result of legalization programs, government engagement and enforcement, user education, and an improved economy”.

However, the figure of counterfeit losses expressed in cash almost doubled in 2007 on a sequential basis. Combined, software makers lost in Russia $4.2 billion – compared with $2.2 a year before. IDC explains such result by market growth at large and the dollar's fall against other currencies.