According to an Autodesk spokesman, for every two companies that buy its popular design software there are eight companies using pirated versions.
San Rafael, California-based Autodesk estimates there are between 20 million to 30 million people using its software globally, of which around only 6 million are legal licensees.
Autodesk is not the only US company feeling the impact of piracy in Asia. Laws governing intellectual property and copyright violations in Asia are relatively immature compared to the West and are more or less unenforceable in many countries.
Ironically, India, along with China and Russia, is earmarked as a future growth market for Autodesk, despite software piracy being rampant in all three countries.
Currently, around 22% of Autodesk’s $952 million revenue comes from Asia. The company plans to double its workforce at its Bangalore customer support center by 2007.
