Big money in pirated software

MarkMonitor is a company specializing in enterprise brand protection, comprehensive solutions and services that safeguard brands, reputation and revenue from online risks.

In a recent study, MarkMonitor looked at the online distribution of pirated digital content and e-commerce sales of counterfeit goods. Conclusion: It is rampant.

Specific findings include:

• In total, the 10 media brands in the study yielded 43 unique sites classified as ‘digital piracy.’ Traffic generated to these sites was over 146 million visits per day, representing more than 53 billion visits per year.
• The top-three websites classified as ‘digital piracy’—rapidshare.com, megavideo.com, and megaupload.com—collectively generate more than 21 billion visits per year.
• The availability of reliable infrastructure is an important factor in the location of sites hosting piracy. The study found that North America and Western Europe represented the host location for 67 percent of the sites classified as ‘digital piracy.’
• The combined traffic to the 48 sites selling counterfeit goods is more than 240,000 visits per day on average or more than 87 million visits per year. The study used only 22 brands, so we can assume that many other brands and content-creators are suffering similar damage.
• The top-three websites classified as ‘digital piracy’—rapidshare.com, megavideo.com, and megaupload.com—collectively generate more than 21 billion visits per year.
• The availability of reliable infrastructure is an important factor in the location of sites hosting piracy. The study found that North America and Western Europe represented the host location for 67 percent of the sites classified as ‘digital piracy.’
• The combined traffic to the 48 sites selling counterfeit goods is more than 240,000 visits per day on average or more than 87 million visits per year.
• When it comes to host location of the sites categorized as ‘counterfeit’, 73 percent were hosted in North America or Western Europe. Eastern European countries hosted another 14 percent of the sites while 9 percent of the sites were hosted in Asia.
• The combined traffic to the 26 sites selling counterfeit prescription drugs is more than 141,000 visits per day on average or more than 51 million visits per year.
• The combined traffic to the 21 e-commerce sites selling counterfeit luxury goods is more than 98,000 visits per day on average or almost 36 million visits per year.

These findings are just the tip of the iceberg. The true scope of the problem is exponentially higher in terms of user traffic, lost revenue and risks to public health and safety.

The full story is here.