Illegal software trade is on a dramatic rise in Hungary due to the economic crisis, the business daily Napi Gazdasag wrote on Wednesday.
According to the data of Business Software Alliance (BSA), a trade group representing a number of the world’s largest software makers, illegal software traders cause an annual some 100bn forints (EUR 330m) damage to the Hungarian economy.
Georg Herrnleben, BSA’s director for East-Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told Napi Gazdasag that recession may tempt customers to purchase fake products.
The All Hungary Media Group is firmly committed to freedom of expression and therefore applies a mostly "hands off" approach to comment moderation. Comments left by readers represent their own views and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of the staff, editors or owner of the All Hungary Media Group, who nonetheless reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic or which moderators consider to constitute "hate speech." Also note that in order to prevent spam we generally close entries off to comments several days after publication.
What does the sale of illegal software has got to do with the economic crisis, folks? I remember full well in the 1990s, when Hungarian economy boomed, folks were stealing stuff left, right, and center and making and selling illegal copies of floppy dics and Cds center-right-left like there was no tomorrow. Now — finally, there isn’t any.
Hungarians are doing it whern the economy is bad… they doing it when it is good… and also doing it all all other times in-between, see?
So, in this respect, the BSA’s stated position on this is a little bit misleading — and completely naive.
“The recession may tempt customers to purchase fake products”?
Yes! Quite right. Just look at the government. What a bunch of second-hand, fakes, they are.