Financial news site 24/7 Wall St is reporting that iPhone app piracy is estimated to have cost Apple and developers over $450 million since the App Store's launch in July 2008.
24/7 Wall St suggests (via Mobile-Ent) that for every bought and downloaded application from the App Store, three pirated downloads take place.
Developers have openly questioned Apple's stance on the subject. Last October Fishlabs CEO Michael Schade stated that the iPhone version of Rally Master Pro was hit by a 95 per cent piracy rate on its first day of availability.
The piracy rate, along with consumer complaints about the title’s price, led to the developer reducing its RRP. “It feels kind of strange to be facing a discussion of 50 Euro Cents about international price points on a game that we have spent 5,000 working hours on. In combination with 95 per cent piracy (!) on the first day this makes it very hard to believe in the future of the App Store, sometimes,” said Schade.