US-headquartered Adobe Systems will introduce subscription-based licensed software products in the country to counter piracy.

The company plans to launch its new subscription model, which will come with a lower upfront payment, in the country early next year.

“Modalities and pricing of the scheme are currently being worked out. We intend the subscription scheme roll-out sometime early next year,” Mr Prabhjeet Singh, Country Marketing Manager (India), Adobe, told Business Line .

Adobe wants to replicate the model — which has been successfully tried out in the US, Europe and Australia — in India to take on the low-cost pirated versions.

According to data available with the company, pirated versions of its products account for nearly 64 per cent of the product usage in India.

Nasdaq-listed Adobe Systems clocked a global turnover of nearly $4 billion (approximately Rs 18,000 crore) in 2010. According to industry sources, Indian market holds huge potential for the company.

Pricing and Piracy

Under the broad scheme, the software products that include its creative offerings such as Creative Suite and popular ones such as Flash and Photoshop can be downloaded from Adobe's Web site for a fee for a limited period. They will be available at a “relatively lower price” than the one-time installation of the licensed versions and their subsequent updates.

“To a certain extent, making products available at lower costs will help counter piracy,” Mr Singh said, indicating that subscription periods are likely to be for a three month, six month and one year. Adobe's new software — Creative Suite 5.5 — is priced here between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1.55 lakh.

According to the 2010 Global Software Piracy Study, carried out by Business Software Alliance with IDC, the commercial value of software piracy grew by 14 per cent globally in 2010 to $59 billion (approximately Rs 2,65,500 crore).

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