14 DAY TRIAL // The software piracy has always been a problem for the software companies from all around the world but one of the most affected names is surely Microsoft, the Windows creator and developer of many other technologies. Reuters reported today that Serbia is the clear leader when it comes to piracy rate in central and Eastern Europe, this country having a 78 percent piracy rate, followed by Romania with 74 percent and Bulgaria with 71 percent. These last two countries are the latest nations which joined the European Union, a matter that should boost their efforts to reduce the software piracy among their residents.
"Serbia is the leading country in central and eastern Europe, with a 78 percent piracy rate," said Dragomir Kojic of Business Software Alliance according to Reuters. "Croatia has around 58 percent, Slovenia 51 percent and new European Union members Bulgaria and Romania 71 and 74 percent."
According to the same source, the most affected companies are Microsoft and Adobe, a pirated copy of Office being available for 200 dinars which equals approximately $3.65, Reuters continued. Microsoft Serbia confirmed the reports, saying that no less than "every fifth computer bought in Serbia has illegal software already installed," as Misha Ognjanovic said for the same source mentioned above.
In the past, it was said that Russia is one of the countries which sells the cheapest software in the world, every user being able to buy any pirated application for no less than 3 euros. Serbia is pretty close with $3.65 for any software, being an obvious sign that the piracy rate is continuously growing up in the central and Eastern Europe.
Microsoft struggled to reduce the distribution rate of its applications but until now only a few large pirates were caught. Moreover, the Redmond-based company introduced numerous utilities meant to block the users aiming to use a counterfeited version of Windows.