The European Commission has finally settled the Community’s long-running debate over software copyright protection by issuing the new rules as a directive: the rights of the software developer will be protected for 50 years, shielded against copyright abuse from Japan and the US; the directive, first taken on-board in December after 18 months of difficult discussions and intense lobbying, will be implemented in 1993; but the European Commission wants all member countries to quicken its integration by adopting the legislation on a national basis; software piracy costs the Community $4,500m each year according to figures compiled on seven of the 12 countries by the British Software Association – but that’s only on a highly dubious and contentious if sold basis; Germany has been the worst affected, with a loss of earnings of $1,400m – the UK is comparatively well-behaved, running behind Spain, Italy and France with annual losses equivalent to $440m.
