Computer software companies lost around $27 million (BD10.2 million) last year as a result of piracy in Bahrain, according to a new study.

That was up from $23 million (BD8.6 million) in 2006, making it the single largest increase in the value of pirated software used in Bahrain since the annual Global Software Piracy Study was first published in 2003.

The value of pirated software represents the "losses" to the industry, including revenues to both international and local software vendors as well as local distributors and retailers.

The figure is calculated using the size of the legitimate software market and the piracy rate.

The study is published by US-based Business Software Alliance (BSA) and Interactive Data Corporation (IDC), which monitor software piracy in 108 countries.

It estimates the global cost of software piracy to be $48 billion (BD18.8bn), an increase of $8 billion (BD3 billion) on last year.

"Piracy is a globally significant problem," said BSA Middle East co-chairman Jawad Al Redha.

"The Information Ministry in Bahrain have been very active in dealing with this and we are constantly in touch with them."

The report also records piracy levels as a percentage of total software use, stating that the level of piracy has actually seen its biggest decrease in Bahrain since 2003 despite the increase in financial loses.

The report found that 57 per cent of software installed on personal computers in Bahrain last year was pirated.

This compares to 60 per cent in 2006 and 64 per cent when the report was first published in 2003.

"The figures show that Bahrain is headed in the right direction," said Mr Al Redha.

"Obviously it has a long way to go, but the situation is definitely improving."

The GCC average is 53pc and Bahrain ranks fourth among the six GCC countries. The UAE has the lowest level at 38pc and Kuwait has the highest at 62pc.

Worldwide piracy increased for the first time since 2003 despite decreasing piracy levels in 67 of the 108 countries surveyed.

The global percentage of pirated software is now at its highest ever level, at 38pc, according to the report.

"The spread of Internet has contributed to the current situation as access to pirated software has moved from the streets to the Internet," said Redha.-TradeArabia News Service