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What Are the Effects of Piracy on the Business World?

What Are the Effects of Piracy on the Business World?

Anonymous hacker committing cybercrime

Piracy in the business world refers to the theft of music, movies, products, digital materials, software, or any other intellectual property owned and created by a business. It can hurt the business owner, brand image, customer services, and revenue stream.

With the growing online criminal activities, unique content from every company is sold as a pirated copy somewhere online, increasing the need for anti-piracy protection services. Piracy not only leads to financial losses but also has a social cost. Here are different ways piracy is affecting the business world:

Diminished Customer Experience & Trust

When customers buy pirated products unknowingly and eventually find out that it’s a counterfeit copy of what they paid for, their trust is diminished. They will think twice before buying anything from the same company the next time. As a result, a business sees fewer sales.

Even if customers don’t realize that the product is pirated, it will still affect their experience. Pirated products are of lower quality than the actual product. For example, a pirated video will often have a poor picture and audio quality, and a counterfeit bag will get damaged quickly. All this leads to customer dissatisfaction, hurting the business’s reputation.

Loss in Revenue & Employment

The revenue from pirated products doesn’t go to the business owners and individuals invested in the company. As a result, the business earns decreased revenue and profits from their production, leading to fewer jobs. The music industry alone loses $2.7 billion in revenue annually because of piracy, and 70,000 people lose their job due to it.

Tarnished Brand Image

When a business has counterfeit products in the market, it reflects poorly on its reputation and brand image. A positive brand image is essential for a business to sustain itself and grow in today’s competitive market. Once tarnished, brand image can take a while to recover, and the business loses most of its customers to its competitors.  

Lost Tax Revenues

According to each country’s tax laws, every product sold has a specific tax. If a person downloads pirated music, there would be no tax charged on it which causes a loss in tax revenue. The lost tax revenue affects the government and the well-being of the country.

Hurts the Creativity of Artists

Artists put their hearts and souls into their work, and when it’s easily pirated, it hurts their creativity and self-esteem. In Africa, piracy is not controlled in many countries, so many artists have migrated to Europe, which has better anti-piracy practices. The migration of skilled creators and artists deprives countries of creativity and talent.

dark web monitoring solutions

Now more than ever, there’s a greater need to eliminate piracy by taking necessary measures. Whether you’re an individual or a business, investing in anti-piracy services and software is essential.

Onsist is an anti-piracy protection company that offers dark web monitoring, anti-counterfeiting services, and many brand protection solutions. Reach out to us to protect your business from threats and thefts.

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