Piracy is rampant in Bangladesh, that’s not a strange fact. Bangladesh has a piracy rate of 92% (according to the Global Software Piracy Study 2006), is the largest user of pirated softwares in the Asia-Pacific and fourth largest in the world. Considering the fact that almost all the software that we use in our PC, from the operating system to the games that we play on our PCs, is pirated in one from of another, is there any prospect of Bangladesh being piracy-free in the near future?

Rather, the question should be addressed as whether we would want to move to a piracy-free Bangladesh. What I mean is, pirated softwares are the only way we can afford to run expensive applications and eye-dazzling PC games on our PC without spending a fortune. Most of the original games and softwares are beyond the reach of us average Bangladeshis. Who would be willing to spend a whole month’s income on a single piece of software?

But did we ever stop to think that if piracy was allowed to run rampant in the world, those softwares would cease to exist in the first place? Millions of dollars are spent behind the research and development of applications that we take for granted. Without sales revenue these companies would abandon production. However, Bangladesh is not so much of an economic power to have an influence on the global market. That is why we are not a serious concern for the giant software corporations.

Although government laws exist, making piracy illegal, but most of us are either blissfully unaware or don’t follow it. More alarming (and embarrassing) is the fact that most of the government offices still use pirated softwares. The first step forward would be to ban the use of illegal softwares in government institutes.

In the present scenario, it is very unlikely that Bangladesh can become a piracy-free nation in the foreseeable future. The main reason for this is that there is no way we could afford an original, non-pirated software. If we are to combat piracy, there needs to be some way to make those softwares affordable to the masses of Bangladeshi people. The original manufacturers could, for example, release special editions of those softwares only for Bangladesh at a reduced price, but then other complications are bound to arise.

Whatever steps taken, the road to a piracy-free Bangladesh is a long one - and very difficult.

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