In its annual survey released today, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) says that software piracy reached nearly US$29 billion in 2003, notes Reuters. “The BSA’s new research firm, IDC, estimates the 2003 global piracy rate was 36 percent, roughly 2 percent above the BSA’s revised 2002 figure,” notes the story. The survey said the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe and Latin America are the worst offenders, with more than half of all installed software being pirated.