TEL AVIV, Israel, May 23 (UPI) -- Pirated software cost Israeli companies $84 million in 2005, according to a report by the Business Software Alliance organization.
The country did not manage to stem much of the tide of bootlegged software: The proportion of such illegal copies at companies was 33 percent in 2004 and 32 percent in 2005, according to a report in the Israeli business magazine TheMarker.
In light of the fact that one-third of all programs in Israel are pirated, the Business Software Alliance reportedly said, law enforcement should step in.
Though Israel's rate of bootlegging is less than the global average of 35 percent, "seen against other western countries such as the (United States), England, Japan and the Scandinavian nations, piracy here is a plague," according to the report.
Home businesses and small business are the main culprits in using pirated software, the magazine reported.
