Windows 7 is already available in China, one week before its official launch. But the copies are all pirated. Anyone can buy a pirated copy of Windows 7 in China for 20 Yuan or approximately USD 2.93.
China is the world’s second largest PC market and Microsoft has high aims to monetize it. However, piracy is one thing that Microsoft should be concerned right now.
More than 80 per cent of all software sold in China is pirated, according to research firm IDC. However, in the recent years this figure is falling. Price is one of main driving factors behind software piracy in China.
To counter software Microsoft is making its software more affordable to the average Chinese. Last year, Microsoft slashed the price of its Office 2007 Home and Student Editions to 199 Yuan from 699 Yuan. Windows 7 Home Basic is priced at 399 Yuan. Though this is cheaper than the west, it is still twenty times costlier than a pirated copy.
Piracy is one of the major issues that China has to deal with. It is putting a strain of China’s relations with foreign companies. China is taking some measures to address the issue. Earlier in August four people were sentenced to jail for distributing pirated copies of Windows Xp.
In the future, software piracy is expected to decrease in China. Analysts predict that by 2012, software piracy in China will come down to 50 per cent–at par with other Asian markets such as Hong Kong.
In order to counter piracy, Microsoft launched an unconventional campaign in China that caused a blank screen to be displayed every one hour on computers running pirated copies of Windows Xp. This caused users to migrate to other domestic companies such as Kingsoft Corp, instead of making them purchase genuine software.
Analysts believe that the only way to prevent piracy completely would be to offer free software supported by advertising. However as more and more free and open source software becomes available, software piracy will become meaningless.