Essay on Software Piracy

First reason why they should be prosecuted is because it’s illegal. One way is you get fined. They can fine you if you get caught doing it. Another way is you could even go to jail. People that do illegal things usually go to jail and even sometimes prison. It shouldn’t be so easy to download. That’s why it’s illegal to piracy.

In the global market that we leave in companies are trying to find any and everyway that they can to get ahead in their respective markets. This most of the time brings out the most innovate thinkers that can come up with a way to keep it’s company on top of their market and sometimes we see that there are companies that like to take a short cut by using non legal and malicious methods. According to Lewis, (1985), Software piracy is the illicit copying of the operating instructions and applications programs, which make computers work, is a large and growing industry. The Pirate Bay is part of a European social and political movement that opposes copyrighted content and demands that music, videos, TV shows, and other digital content be free and unrestricted. In the words of the Pirate Party, “the Pirate Bay is a unique platform for distributing culture between regular people and independent artists, and that’s something we want to preserve.”

Bill Gates and his company prosecuted many individuals and companies for software theft to show the world that intellectual property cannot be stolen without punishment. In 1998 Gates noticed that there was a huge gap between the number of computers being sold each year and the number of computer software. He quickly realized that many people were stealing computer software online. Gates knew that using computer software without paying was illegal and he intended to make everyone that stole their software pay the price for their crime. When Microsoft first discovered that their software was being stolen they decided that if people were going to steal software then they should steal Microsoft’s software and eventually Gates would find a way to collect money from his stolen property. Microsoft went after over 80 companies that they discovered were using their computer software without purchasing it and they pressed legal action and in the end got the money they had earned (Down to Earth). Before Microsoft prosecuted these companies for illegally downloading software, stealing intellectual property online was not considered important and legal action was almost never taken against those who committed the theft. Thanks to Bill Gates and his company intellectual theft is now taken

Computers has made it very easy for people to copy and steal intellectual property like music, movies and computer software programs like Photoshop and Microsoft office. The

Most of the software that is used today is purchased as a one-site license. This means that only one computer can have that software installed on in at a time. Copying or sharing this information without the use of multiple licences is seen as Software Piracy. There are many ways of preventing software piracy. Software piracy does not only affect one individual but also can affect a large group or company. Some of the effects of software piracy are; it reduces the funding for ongoing development efforts, it can limit the amount of jobs opportunities that are available to people, it also allows for other unauthorised copies of software that may contain bugs or viruses and lastly it prevents the user form getting any high quality technical support and product updates. There are too main factors/ways that can help to prevent software piracy. One way is hiding the users IP address therefor any traces of you being seen on that website are lost and therefor you cannot be hacked. You can also download software which will set up firewalls in order to prevent the user form getting hacked or getting a

In this day and age, it's not just physical things being stolen: basically everything that can be digitally distributed can be cracked by some tech guy and uploaded onto one of the thousands of illegal websites. No matter how many countermeasures the creators set up, there will always be somebody who will be up to the challenge of busting through them. and there are no reppercussions to these blatent thefts unless a pirate is dumb enough to admit his crimes on the internet.

Unlicensed software use continued to be a major problem in 2013. Indeed, 43 percent of the software installed on PCs around the world was not properly licensed, an uptick from 42 percent in 2011. The commercial value of the unlicensed installations was $62.7 billion. (The Compliance Gap, 2014). As we can see piracy of software and other digital media is a global problem that adversely affects many businesses and the welfare of employees and consumers.

For many years illegal file sharing and music swapping has been going on. Two very popular cases are the MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster case and the A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster case. Both cases differ in many ways however they also have similarities. A lot of music and other sorts of entertainment are being distributed for free all over the internet. What some people do not think of are the consequences that will be faced if they get caught. Not only is the distributor at risk for getting caught but those of us that download the software illegally can be charged.

With technology so readily available there are many people and companies who have participated in similar illegal activities. The original copyright law did not take into consideration the digital area. By implementing Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) it has tightened up the protection of things online and in the digital arena.

Because the fact that the Internet has made it so much easier to distribute software, both legally and illegally, it is extremely difficult to “cripple” the software so that it only functions on the computer of the person who purchased it. I feel that people don’t mind paying for software, but the fact that software has gotten so expensive; most people refuse to pay it. Microsoft and Adobe are a great example of software that cost anywhere from $200 - $1000 to purchase. How can the public really afford prices like that? Sure if you are a corporation and utilizing the software to produce something that will bring in money, it is understandable. I

On the other hand, there are also people that do it on purpose thinking they won't get caught doing what they are doing, and that means that they would have to face the consequences, and Eric Faden makes this video, to probably help a lot of people learn, I can say this because I did, I understand the copyright and fair use laws a lot better now after watching his video.

Since copyright music or movies aren't tangible, companies shouldn't use vocabulary like "stealing". Classifying digital software as theft is not something that should be said since media like movies aren't tangible items. The text states, "The problem is that most people simply don't buy the claim that illegally downloading a song or video from the Internet really is like stealing a car...When Industrial Age Bob and Joe started inventing less palpable things, like electricity, stocks, bonds and licenses, however, things got more complicated. What Bob took, Joe, in some sense, still had." The text explains why using words like "theft" and "stealing" wouldn't work when

When people buy music, they get legal rights to that purchase, known as Intellectual Property (IP). But some people do not like to buy music. Whether they know it or not, they use piracy as their way to get music. They use softwares, look music up on the internet, or find somebody selling it. Piracy can be destructive to people or organizations like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). People

The rise of the Internet era opened the whole new market for traditional media full of opportunities as well as threats. Online piracy being one of them because the music and film industry loses £5.4bn in a year and if it was reduced by 10% it could have created up to 13 thousand jobs in the UK. There are various attempts taken to fight with online piracy; a case study of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement will be considered as well as other legislations attempting to regulate copyrights in the Internet. This

On January 23, 2003, the world’s leading computer networking equipment maker Cisco Systems, headquartered in San Jose California, filed a lawsuit against China-based Huawei Technologies and its United States subsidiaries Huawei America and FutureWei Technologies. In the lawsuit, Cisco alleged that Huawei stole intellectual property by copying its Internet Operating System (IOS) software and its copyrighted user manuals. Cisco also claimed that Huawei infringed on its patents. After numerous failed attempts to resolve these complaints directly with Huawei, which included a cease and desist letter to one of Huawei’s United Kingdom distributors, Cisco decided that a lawsuit was necessary to