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Software piracy increases literacy in Africa - study

San Francisco - A study of piracy in 11 African countries that was produced by the African Governance and Development Institute indicates that software piracy may increase literacy.

The Yaounde, Cameroon-based institute looked at piracy in Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South African and Zambia.

While the study found literacy increases, it indicated that international intellectual-property protection treaties and their implementation did not impede per-capita economic prosperity and may improve life expectancy.

The study did consider the effect of AIDS on the populations. Because of that, life expectancy results should be examined “with extreme caution,” the researchers said.

AIDS is a fundamental cause of mortality in the sampled countries, and a “growing chunk” of the opposition to stronger intellectual-property rights protections is related to the need for access to life-saving pharmaceuticals, according to the study.

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