More Than Half of Students Surveyed Say It's Okay to Share Digital Copyrighted Works on the Job.

WASHINGTON -- Nationwide Survey Shows That Two-Thirds of Students See Nothing Unethical about Swapping or Downloading Digital Files Illegally

More than half of college and university students think it is acceptable behavior in the workplace to swap or download digital copyrighted files (software, music and movies) without paying for them, according to a new survey released recently by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs(1), reveals that 52 percent of the student respondents and 25 percent of academics believe that, even in the workplace, it is okay to download and swap files, no matter the software value. The survey results also show that two-thirds of students see nothing unethical about swapping or downloading files illegally without paying for them.

The independent survey benchmarks the digital piracy attitudes and behaviors of more than 1,000 students and 200 university faculty and administrators against those first reported in a 2003 BSA/Ipsos survey.

"This survey demonstrates how common illegal file-sharing is on campus and the fact that software piracy ethics are sadly lacking. A strong message needs to be sent to businesses, particularly those that hire new graduates: Educate your new employees. Communicate clearly that illegal file-sharing and downloading carries serious legal, financial and security consequences," said Diane Smiroldo, BSA's vice president for public affairs.

Smiroldo continued, "College-age students - most of whom grew up with technology - are our future workforce. Before they begin their careers, they need to understand that they may put their employer at risk by engaging in software theft. Most businesses understand the consequences of software theft and will not tolerate employees who share unlicensed software. Our colleges and universities need to continue to emphasize to students that software piracy on campus won't be tolerated either."

According to the BSA survey, 70 percent of students report that media reports about unlicensed software or industry actions against downloaders have made them less likely to download unlicensed or pirated software. Anti-piracy education will make a difference in closing the knowledge gap over time, Smiroldo said.

Also, the BSA "Define the Line" program is one important way the commercial software industry is working with higher education institutions to prevent digital piracy. "Define the Line" is designed to educate and encourage students to be good cyber citizens and respect copyrighted works online. Marquette University, in Milwaukee, is the first school in the country to participate in the "Define the Line" initiative, which distributes the program's materials to students and fosters school discussions about digital piracy.

According to Smiroldo, businesses should routinely ensure that all employees, including new college graduate hires, understand why software piracy is illegal, and those businesses need to perform software audits to certify that employees are using only licensed software.

"Many businesses face serious legal risks because of software piracy, and a company can be held liable for its employees' actions," Smiroldo said. Under the law, a business may be fined up to $150,000 per software program infringed.

Businesses trying to determine whether their employees are using unlicensed software can download free software audit tools at www.bsaaudit.com and obtain free compliance information from the BSA Web site, www.bsa.org.

For a copy of the 2003 and 2005 Student and Academic Surveys and top-line reports as well as digital copyright education resources, visit www.definetheline.com.

(1) Survey Methodology: This survey reports on Internet-based online interviews with 1,062 university and college students and telephone interviews with 200 college and university faculty and administrators. It was conducted among a national cross-section of U.S. public and private higher education institutions. The margin of error for this study is +/-3.0 percent for the student population and +/-6.9 percent for the educator population.

About the Business Software Alliance

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, CNC Software/Mastercam, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, McAfee, Microsoft, PTC, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, The MathWorks, and UGS.