Piracy In Romania Led To $95M Losses – Report

According to the IIPA Special 301 Report, total losses caused by piracy in 2007 in Romania increased by $20 million on year and by $39 million compared to 2003.

Unlicensed business application programs and hard disk loading registered the highest losses of $80 million.

Recording piracy registered losses of $15 million in 2007 and entertainment software piracy increased to 89% from 77% in 2006.

In terms of statistics, 460 criminal files were opened in 2007, in 287 of which the recording industry requested damages. However, 173 files were dropped by prosecutors, 85 criminal files reached the Court and in 31 cases a conviction was handed down.

However, the IIPA report said that traditional optical disc piracy has slightly declined last year in Romania. About 30% of the pirated CDs and DVDs come from Russia through the border with the Republic of Moldova.

In Romania, DVD piracy is also a big problem after it reached in 2007 a level of about 80% of total disc sales. Pirate optical discs (DVDs, CD-Rs, DVD-Rs) generally are sold via the internet or press advertisements.
 
The 2008 special 301 report issued by the IIPA, organization that represents 1,900 companies within the United States, recommended that Romania stay on the watch list in 2008.