It was recently reported that an RIAA lawsuit against LimeWire, seeking $72 trillion in damages, was shot down. A new study has revealed that more than half of all computer users had committed some form of content piracy, which leads …

The rate of global software piracy rose to 43 percent in 2009, a two percent increase from 2008 driven primarily by expanding PC sales in emerging markets, according to the seventh annual Business Software Alliance/IDC Global Software Piracy Study.

"Software theft exceeded $51 billion in commercial value in 2009. The public and private sectors need to join forces to more effectively combat an epidemic that stifles innovation and impairs economies on a global scale," said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman.

The global PC software piracy rate increased in 2008, accounting for 41 percent of all PC software installed, with losses to companies reaching $53 billion, according to a new study by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

This compares to a legitimate PC software market of $88 billion in 2008, and a personal computer market of $244 billion.

The United States has the lowest PC software piracy rate in the world at 20 percent, but it has the highest dollar losses from piracy, $9.1 billion, because it is the world’s largest software market.

The leader of one of the oldest and well-known Internet software piracy groups was sentenced today to 51 months in prison.