AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SOFTWARE PIRACY IN JORDAN

This paper documents an exploratory study of software piracy in the developing country of Jordan. Piracy levels in the developing world have consistently ranked higher than in the industrialized nations, and this study finds that Jordan is no exception. Almost a quarter of those surveyed appeared to not understand the legal issues involved in piracy behavior. However, a majority did believe that copying software illegally is unethical. The roles of the government, NGOs and private industry in educating the public were also studied. The respondents believed that all three groups have a responsibility to increase public awareness of piracy issues, but the success of such efforts was seen as limited. The paper finishes with some suggestions on combating piracy in Jordan, including the implementation of a unified marketing strategy to raise public awareness of the issue.