"Many businesses will focus on the $16 billion that IDC estimates was lost to pirated software in the Asia-Pacific region, said Michael Goff, marketing director for V.i. Labs, which provides piracy business intelligence and protection for software vendors. 'But more interestingly, when you combine the North American and European markets, they had a combined $21 billion in unlicensed software,' he said. 'There's a significant opportunity for revenue recovery from unlicensed software in these markets where intellectual property protection is really good.'"

"Furthermore, businesses -- not consumers -- already using a vendor's products have, in effect, chosen that product over the competition, and this creates an opportunity, he said. 'If you can identify business infringers who are pirating your software, you've basically won the battle. They're a customer of yours, they just haven't paid you yet.'"