Toronto, ON, August 12, 2005: According to a survey recently released by the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST) and conducted last month by independent researcher Uthink, software piracy is running rampant on Canadian university campuses, with 47 per cent of Canadian university students admitting that they pirate software by downloading it online without paying for it, and 53 per cent saying that they swap computer disks among friends.
The survey measured the attitudes and behaviours of 3,000 college and university students across Canada, including 500 students who identified computer science as their major.
When asked about their views about someone plagiarizing their own work, 87 per cent consider this to be serious or very serious; yet only 40 per cent consider using pirated software to be a serious issue. According to CAAST, this disconnect is stronger among computer science majors, where 83 per cent feel very strongly about someone stealing their own intellectual property, yet nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) admit to downloading commercial software from the Internet without paying for it, compared to 46 per cent of students in other fields of study.
“These survey findings suggest to us that while college students have a strong will to protect intellectual property, they make exceptions for software,” opined Jacquie Famulak, President of CAAST. “It’s alarming to see so many computer science students pirating software when their future livelihood could be directly hurt by pirating activities. Clearly, more education is needed to help students understand that their actions can have serious implications for themselves now and in the future.”
The CAAST survey also found that students waver on what constitutes stealing: almost all (96 per cent) agree that stealing software from a store is serious or very serious, yet only 40 per cent feel the same way about downloading, swapping or making illegal copies of commercial software. While 72 per cent agree that using pirated software is unethical, only 16 per cent consider it an illegal activity that warrants punishment.
Further, over 78 per cent say they have received information about intellectual property rights or copyright laws from the media; and almost 63 per cent say they have also obtained this information from a college or university course.
“Using pirated software is a decision that comes with risks,” added Famulak. “In fact, by using pirated software, students increase the risk of exposing their computer systems and other data files to spyware, viruses and security holes, not to mention possible legal consequences Students who use school networks to pirate software may also be compromising their school’s computer security and safety, and should be aware that their school may be held liable for the actions of its students. That’s why education and awareness are key preventative steps that can and should be taken.”
A study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), CAAST’s counterpart in the U.S., similarly found that two thirds of college and university students see nothing unethical about swapping or downloading digital copyrighted files without paying for them; and more than half (52 per cent) of U.S. students believe this is acceptable behaviour in the workplace.
In an effort to address the growing challenge of digital piracy at higher education institutions, CAAST and BSA launched “Define the Line” (www.definetheline.com), an awareness program designed to educate students about the importance of being “good cyber citizens”, and respecting the intellectual property of copyrighted works online. The program encourages students to use only legal software and to understand the impact of software theft.
Students can learn more about software piracy, its implications and online consumer safety by also logging on to the CAAST Website at www.caast.org; or by calling 1-800-263-9700.
Source: Market News Canada
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