The scary thought about software pirating is that there are so many ways you can do it, there’s abundance in this area even too much for this article, but I will go over some of the types. According to BSA (Business software Alliance) there are generally 5 types of software piracy. The first is End-user piracy which is one form of piracy that occurs when a user makes use of unlicensed software or uses licensed software and installs it on multiple PCs. One example I can think of would be like an employee in a workplace having license to one software but installing it on 20 Pcs, this is also known as soft lifting. Another sub-category that relates to end-user piracy is renting, which infers to somebody renting a copy of a product for impermanent use like a Redbox video being rented at a kiosk near a store. Another example would be a college student making use of unlicensed software maybe by disabling the copyright protection or simply making copies of the registered software.
The second type of piracy is Hard disk loading which is self-explanatory from its title, but it is when a hardware manufacturer installs software without any permission/license agreement. An example of this would be a company like Dell distributing its computers and illegally installs Microsoft applications on it. The third is Counterfeiting, copies are made of a certain product to resemble the original version from the box, manual instructions, Labeling to finally the actual CD with the software on it. Microsoft is largely counterfeited considering the fact that their products are widely used. What’s ironic about this type of software piracy is that there’s Counterfeit software sold to commit these illegal acts, so your typical CD burners, Label programs, application or photocopies. Notably, it’s important to remember that it’s what you use some of these software devices for that justifies its legalities not the actual product itself.
The fourth is internet piracy which is probably the most simple out of all the types, it entails that when copyrighted software is downloaded by a user connected via a modem to the Internet without the express permission of the copyright owner. So a user can go onto a pirated website like filestube.com or 4shared.com that will take them to many different channel that can help the user attain what they seek. There are also peer-to-peer networks that enable unauthorized transfer of copyrighted programs. Internet piracy is the fastest growing form of piracy due to the growing number of user’s online and increased connection speeds and to think that there was a time the only way you could download illegal software was on the Bulletin Boards system, now there are hundreds of thousands of outlets.
The last is License misuse which is when to many people use a licensed software then it was originally intended, so an example would be if you have a local-area network and install programs on the server and have more users than allowed by the license using that particular software. ("Types of piracy," 2000). All I mention above are the more general forms of piracy in effect all over the world, a snowball effect that will continue to grow.
The second type of piracy is Hard disk loading which is self-explanatory from its title, but it is when a hardware manufacturer installs software without any permission/license agreement. An example of this would be a company like Dell distributing its computers and illegally installs Microsoft applications on it. The third is Counterfeiting, copies are made of a certain product to resemble the original version from the box, manual instructions, Labeling to finally the actual CD with the software on it. Microsoft is largely counterfeited considering the fact that their products are widely used. What’s ironic about this type of software piracy is that there’s Counterfeit software sold to commit these illegal acts, so your typical CD burners, Label programs, application or photocopies. Notably, it’s important to remember that it’s what you use some of these software devices for that justifies its legalities not the actual product itself.
The fourth is internet piracy which is probably the most simple out of all the types, it entails that when copyrighted software is downloaded by a user connected via a modem to the Internet without the express permission of the copyright owner. So a user can go onto a pirated website like filestube.com or 4shared.com that will take them to many different channel that can help the user attain what they seek. There are also peer-to-peer networks that enable unauthorized transfer of copyrighted programs. Internet piracy is the fastest growing form of piracy due to the growing number of user’s online and increased connection speeds and to think that there was a time the only way you could download illegal software was on the Bulletin Boards system, now there are hundreds of thousands of outlets.
The last is License misuse which is when to many people use a licensed software then it was originally intended, so an example would be if you have a local-area network and install programs on the server and have more users than allowed by the license using that particular software. ("Types of piracy," 2000). All I mention above are the more general forms of piracy in effect all over the world, a snowball effect that will continue to grow.
Money is the reason why we wake up in the morning, why we go to work; we use money to pay the bills for our house, cars, school and etc. Money is a necessity and not everybody have a lot of it, according to a blog that I read it delegated the notion of “Trying before buying”, and it’s an attitude of wanting to see your work to see if it’s worth the money. When I read the comments one person specified that “you wouldn't buy aftershave before you had a sample. You wouldn't buy a car before you took it for a test drive. You wouldn't rent a house/apartment without looking round it first. Why, when it comes to digital media, you don't get that chance?” another comment made by blogger “Fracture” that spun my thinking was “To steal something means to deprive the use of it from someone else.
When someone makes a copy, they do not deprive the original from its owner. Basic economics comes into play. If supply of music goes to infinity, price will go to zero. How do you estimate that $50.1B is lost from music with a price of zero?” (Mcglaun, 2010). So it’s very clear that the thinking represented speaks for the masses, the idea of trying before buying or if you can’t afford it pirate it is the approach many people have. My personal opinion on the matter has no clear distinction because I believe taking intellectual property without permission or compensation to the owner in effect you are depriving that owner of the revenue that they are entitled to. On the other side if you buy good things, you encourage the productivity of good things as well as if you buy valueless things you get the same result, so sometimes maybe the” trying before buying method “ is not a bad one even if it means pirating, no stand still view for me, these companies make millions anyhow.
Billions of dollars annually are lost from piracy all over the world. An example of this is back in 2009 when the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said. Worldwide, piracy losses reached 51.4 billion dollars. Any business that Generates recognized Income will always receive attention. This is simply the cost of doing business, This chart below is a more recent reflection.
Are there any Cyber laws? Who’s fighting all this pirating? Well, just like in any marvel comic book story if there is a bad guy then chances are there is a good guy. IIPA (International intellectual property alliance) in association with other esteemed organizations are fighting the pirating force challenging them every day. “A Cyber law is the term used to describe laws intended to regulate activities over the internet or via the use of electronic data communications. It encompasses a variety of legal and political issues related to jurisdiction, privacy, intellectual property, communication devices and freedom of expression.
There are many organizations that oppose pirating and as a result they get acquainted with IIPA which has 1,900 company members representing the copyright-based industries. This private sector coalition is determined to strengthen international protection and enforcement of copyright by working with U.S. government and foreign governments. What's powerful about this is the courses of actions being taken actually have yielding results. Jeffery Hardee (Vice president at BSA) proved that lowering piracy will help create a more productive economy. Hardee stated “10-percentage point reduction in the software piracy rate over four years in Asia-Pacific would "directly contribute" 41 billion dollars to the region's economies. It will also create 435,000 jobs; generate another 5.4 billion dollars in taxes and increase revenues to local vendors by 33 billion dollars.” Other consequences are fines to a company or an individual found using unlicensed software and violating copyright laws can pay damages of up to $150,000 for each software title copied. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, you can be fined up to $250,000, or sentenced to five years in jail, or both.
So to conclude it is very evident to see that our actions have a ripple effect and can prove to be harmful. In regards to software piracy the war is imminent, that already has had some casualties. The battle between good and evil but who is on which side, some views can convince that copying what is not your is right and that it's not stealing, other strong views suggest that it is stealing and not giving the owner what they are entitled to is solely wrong. This pirating rampant has proven to become a legal, political and even an economical issue. Billions upon Billions are lost annually, thousands of companies ceased from receiving their actual revenue/profits, Millions of user and Warez groups benefiting off other peoples work and generating income of their own. A bunch of happy and angry faces is what I would title this world wide issue, you either are happy with copying; downloading others people work to make use of it or making money of it. One can say a company can just be happy with the annual income they are already receiving and appreciate the wide-spread popularity their product is getting…Or be angry that as a Pirate that these companies overprice the consumers anyhow. Be angry as a company that people should not steal what you work so hard on. Ideally, it’s just a bunch of happy and angry faces, you choose.
There are many organizations that oppose pirating and as a result they get acquainted with IIPA which has 1,900 company members representing the copyright-based industries. This private sector coalition is determined to strengthen international protection and enforcement of copyright by working with U.S. government and foreign governments. What's powerful about this is the courses of actions being taken actually have yielding results. Jeffery Hardee (Vice president at BSA) proved that lowering piracy will help create a more productive economy. Hardee stated “10-percentage point reduction in the software piracy rate over four years in Asia-Pacific would "directly contribute" 41 billion dollars to the region's economies. It will also create 435,000 jobs; generate another 5.4 billion dollars in taxes and increase revenues to local vendors by 33 billion dollars.” Other consequences are fines to a company or an individual found using unlicensed software and violating copyright laws can pay damages of up to $150,000 for each software title copied. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, you can be fined up to $250,000, or sentenced to five years in jail, or both.
So to conclude it is very evident to see that our actions have a ripple effect and can prove to be harmful. In regards to software piracy the war is imminent, that already has had some casualties. The battle between good and evil but who is on which side, some views can convince that copying what is not your is right and that it's not stealing, other strong views suggest that it is stealing and not giving the owner what they are entitled to is solely wrong. This pirating rampant has proven to become a legal, political and even an economical issue. Billions upon Billions are lost annually, thousands of companies ceased from receiving their actual revenue/profits, Millions of user and Warez groups benefiting off other peoples work and generating income of their own. A bunch of happy and angry faces is what I would title this world wide issue, you either are happy with copying; downloading others people work to make use of it or making money of it. One can say a company can just be happy with the annual income they are already receiving and appreciate the wide-spread popularity their product is getting…Or be angry that as a Pirate that these companies overprice the consumers anyhow. Be angry as a company that people should not steal what you work so hard on. Ideally, it’s just a bunch of happy and angry faces, you choose.
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