Exploring Software Piracy
Software Piracy refers to the unauthorized use or copying of software.
When a user purchases a software program, he does not purchase the
software itself, but the right to use the software. This right is
governed by a licence. When you purchase a boxed software product, you
receive a CD, manuals and a licence agreement. This licence generally
allows you to use the software on one workstation. In the work place,
it may be tempting to install this software onto all of your
workstations. Where the user acts in a manner contradictory to the
terms of the licence, he has probably committed software piracy.
Advantages of Piracy:
There are certainly advantages to pirating software. Main benefits
include:
· Cost: Pirated software costs nothing, or close to nothing, to
obtain. When a consumer wants to buy a software package which costs
upwards of € 2,000 (example: AutoCAD, Starry Night), the amount of
money saved by pirating software is certainly really big. The consumer
cannot afford to buy all the software’s of the market in order to have
a complete opinion of which one is the most appropriate for the
working sector, because usually the software’s have a demo edition in
which the most important components are disabled.
· Easy to Acquire: Pirated software is extremely easy to find, whether
online, or sold openly in foreign countries, or simply provided by
friends. In fact, in many cases, it easier for someone to go online
and download an illegal copy of a software program than to drive to a
store and buy it from a retailer.
· Anonymity and Personal Privacy: Pirating software can be committed
wit...
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...autions to secure the software
from being pirated. But it also means that there might be more
problems, even inside the software’s code. So that gives the challenge
to the programmer to construct a software that is the best that it can
be.
Conclusion
Software piracy is not as bad as the companies want to appear it. They
just want to gain as much money they can get without really care about
the consumers. There are millions of programmers that construct a
software, dedicate hours and hours to their software and then they
just upload it on a website on the Internet for free, with the source
code, in order to help other people to do their job or even other
programmers to develop a better software. And what do they only ask?
Just some credits and a thankful e-mail… That is something that must
all make us think.
The notion that software should be free is one that is highly critiqued within the technology industry. Free, as in the idea that users can obtain the source code for any given program, and modify and redistribute it as they like. Currently most all software produced is proprietary in nature. Corporations pay developers to create proprietary software that they then obstruct (so that no modifications can be made), and sell (to turn a profit). Richard Stallman has been fighting the idea of proprietary software, and specifically software ownership, for decades. Stallman holds the stance that software ownership is a detriment to society, and stifles innovation, education, and social cohesion.
3. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'? Will any of the anti-piracy tactics adopted by the film industry be effective in stopping the illegal copying and distribution of films? Why do you need to be a member? Depending upon the tactics used, some of the strategies utilized by the film industry to restrain individuals from copying and sharing copyrighted films will work, however, most will have little or no effect.
As many users see P2P software as just file sharing, entertainment industries and other big companies see it as copyright infringement and stealing from copyright owners without their rightful authorization or compensation. These companies complain that P2P file sharing threatens the survival of the industries and believe that there should be a law passed to protect the livelihood of the copyright holders.
Pirating is the same as stealing you are taking something that isn’t rightfully yours’ and it is because of this that prosecution should happen against these individuals. Pirating brings many problems to an individual the most important being it can bring serious penalties with the law. For instance, “is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000” (Source 3). This is the punishment for copyrighting any file such as a movie, play, song etc. The reason for these punishments to be occurring is so people can become aware of how important the problem of piracy is. Also, these punishments are inputted so it can give people a reason as to why not download a file without paying for it like you should. This type of fine can leave an individual bankrupt and having to pay this debt for the rest of their life.
It is first beneficial to know the definition of piracy. Piracy has been characterized multiple ways from multiple disciplines. For the purpose of this paper, I will apply the definition of piracy from the 1982 United ...
Why do people pirate software? The obvious answer is: people want to use the software, but not pay for it. However, when we change the question slightly, to: “Why do people steal source code?” A variety of interesting answers can pop up. Possibly, the thief wants to modify the code, make copies of it, and proceed to sell it as his own creation -- for a profit. Or, perhaps the perpetrator is a raging open source advocate and he simply wants to examine the stolen code to improve his programming skills. As harmless as the latter may sound, it is still a clearly defined crime in virtually every hi-tech country in the world.1
A Worldwide Problem Software piracy is defined as the illegal copying of software for commercial or personal gain. Software companies have tried many methods to prevent piracy, with varying degrees of success. Several agencies like the Software Publishers Association and the Business Software Alliance have been formed to combat both worldwide and domestic piracy. Software piracy is an unresolved, worldwide problem, costing millions of dollars in lost revenue. Software companies have used many different copy protection schemes. The most annoying form of copy protection is the use of a key disk. This type of copy protection requires the user to insert the original disk every time the program is run. It can be quite difficult to keep up with disks that are years old. The most common technique of copy protection requires the user to look up a word or phrase in the program's manual. This method is less annoying than other forms of copy protection, but it can be a nuisance having to locate the manual every time. Software pirates usually have no trouble "cracking" the program, which permanently removes the copy protection. After the invention of CD-ROM, which until lately was uncopyable, most software companies stopped placing copy protection in their programs. Instead, the companies are trying new methods of disc impression. 3M recently developed a new technology of disc impression which allows companies to imprint an image on the read side of a CD-ROM. This technology would not prevent pirates from copying the CD, but it would make a "bootleg" copy differ from the original and make the copy traceable by law enforcement officials (Estes 89). Sometimes, when a person uses a pirated program, there is a "virus" attached to the program. Viruses are self-replicating programs that, when activated, can damage a computer. These viruses are most commonly found on pirated computer games, placed there by some malignant computer programmer. In his January 1993 article, Chris O' Malley points out that if piracy was wiped out viruses would eventually disappear (O' Malley 60). There are ways that a thrifty consumer can save money on software without resorting to piracy. Computer companies often offer discounts on new software if a person has previously purchased an earlier version of the software. Competition between companies also drives prices low and keeps the number of pirated copies down (Morgan 45). People eventually tire or outgrow their software and decide to sell it.
"4 Ways In Which Internet Piracy Can Be a Good Thing." MakeUseOf. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
The protection of trade in general has always been considered as essential to the defense of the commonwealth, and, upon that account, a necessary part of the duty of the executive power.
... Daniel Veit. "More than Fun and Money. Worker Motivation in Crowdsourcing - A Study on Mechanical Turk." Proceedings of the Seventh Americas Conference on Information Systems (2011): 1-11. Web.
copyrighted software by a person or entity that has not been licensed to use the
The PC industry is just over 20 years old. In those 20 years, both the quality
All around the world people connected to the internet are downloading free digital content through P2P file sharing software.
These laws work to differentiate the works that require protection, what needs to be protected and what form of usage can be permitted without a license. Proper enforcement of laws to combat piracy is required so that all stakeholders, regardless of them being the user or the creator can benefit from this protection.