Computer software products produced by U.S. companies - including Utah-based Novell and WordPerfect - have become one of the nation's most important sources of foreign sales despite overseas pirating problems, said a report released Thursday.
The report, issued by the Business Software Alliance, said the computer software industry is the fastest growing major industry in the United States today.However, the report also found overseas piracy and counterfeiting saps away $12 billion from the industry yearly.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the money taken from the industry through piracy probably amounts to more than 100,000 jobs.
Hatch has drafted a letter to President Clinton suggesting the departments of Treasury, Commerce and State, as well as other federal agencies, create a better sensitivity to the piracy problem.
Enid Greene, Novell Corporate Counsel (and former congressional candidate), said piracy is the No. 1 challenge of U.S. companies, as it results in lost revenues and jobs.
Utah is home to more than 850 computer software-related companies, employing 8 percent of the state's work force: about 55,000 workers, Hatch said.
Hatch - emphasizing the importance of the business to Utah - added today's information technology businesses contribute $1.65 billion of payroll spending to the state's economy.
Greene said Utahns do not understand how prominent Utah has become in the computer industry, especially the software industry.
R. Duff Thompson, senior vice president of WordPerfect, said the report provided a solid piece of research on the size of the industry, the impact the industry has on the American economy and the impact piracy has on the industry.
It would be hard to find another area in which the United States has such an inovative lead on world markets, Thompson said.
According to the report, U.S. packaged software products hold an estimated 75 percent of the world-market share.
Greene said Novell, as well as other members of the Business Software Alliance, are asking the government to continue to help protect the copyright in their products, and work with other governments to change laws that allow piracy.
"Computer software is the easiest stuff in the world to copy and steal," Thompson said.
Greene said part of the problem is people, both in the United States and abroad, do not realize they are stealing.
"Copying software from someone else's computer onto theirs is the same thing as stealing a computer terminal," Greene said.
"As wonderful as the business is, it could be even better if foreign trading partners did their part to make sure they are paying for the goods they are receiving," Greene said.
The report also listed denial of access to foreign markets as another problem facing the software industry.
"Our software manufacturers are not getting free-market access abroad," Hatch said. "At least 28 countries currently discriminate against U.S. products."