April 2004 — The Final Word
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Failing Intellectual Property Protection 101
Students aren't being told that downloading unlicensed or illegal files is a mistake, says Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of BSA. "There have been positive advancements in peer-to-peer (P2P) technology, but its misuse raises concerns," he says. "Education is evermore important to changing these behaviors. With P2P use on the rise, student and educator attitudes toward illegal downloading and file-swapping, if ignored, have the potential to become a gateway for increased software piracy on thousands of college campuses."
Among the 300 professors surveyed, 79% stated they considered unauthorized copying to be wrong, while none reported obtaining software illegally. The data that bothers Gilman most is the idea that one-in-five faculty members may be telling their students to "go ahead and pull this off the Web where you can get it free."
Additional BSA Piracy Survey Findings
- 23% of college and university students have downloaded software, with only 32% paying for it all or most of the time.
- 69% of students have downloaded music, with only 8% of them paying for it all or even most of the time.
- 26% have downloaded movies, with only 4% paying for it all or most of the time.
- More than 40% of educators said it's OK to share or swap software to cut costs.
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