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Intellectual property rights and software piracy
Software piracy cost the European governments an estimated 1.4$ billion in tax revenues had the piracy rate been reduced to 35% (the U.S.1994 level). According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), more than 56,000 jobs would have been created in Western Europe. 53
In Europe, only Switzerland and the UK have a lower software piracy rate than Austria. 54 Austria strengthened its copyright laws and implemented the European Union's Software Directive. The European Community Directive for the Protection of Computer Programs became effective on January 1, 1992, and called for an overall harmonization and strengthening of the national copyright laws of the EU member countries.
In Austria and in other European nations, BSA started an enforcement campaign that includes litigation against software piracy. Enforcement actions undertaken by the governments have, however, proven to be the most successful remedy against software piracy. 55
| Country | $ losses | Piracy Rate |
| Italy | 404,382,943 | 58 % |
| Sweden | 151,106,006 | 52 % |
| Germany | 1,874,741,352 | 50 % |
| Austria | 66,830,624 | 48 % |
Encrypting Technology Restrictions
Whereas the United States limits the sale of encrypting software for exports only (because this technology is viewed as a military technology), France, for example, completely prohibits the use of such technology. The European Union and Germany also discuss restriction to the use of encrypting software. The Austrian government currently allows the use of the software but is waiting for changes in European legislation. If the restrictive laws regarding the encryption of messages will be prohibited in Europe, commercial business over the Internet will suffer as data can be easily read by hackers. 56
Trans-border data flow
The world wide connection of IT has opened the opportunity to transferred data globally without obstacles. In a legal sense, the transfer of personal data is a violation of personal rights unless the persons have approved the transfer or the addressee adheres to the Austrian data protection law. Laws regulating privacy are of particular importance in Austria (Datenschutzgesetz). All European countries have agreed to the European Council's directive which limits the collection, processing, storage, transmission, and use of personally identifiable data to legitimate purposes. 57 Austria also emphasizes on strict banking secrecy laws, which are under the Council of Europe Convention 108. The specific guidelines can be found in the 1980 OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data, as part of the CEC 108.
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