
Software Piracy
Software piracy is the copying and selling of copyrighted software. There are many types of software that can be pirated including operating systems, application programs, internet downloads, including music, software, or movies. Many people do this knowing that they are partaking in something illegal; however some people have no clue that they are breaking the law. In some cases a person may have inadvertently purchased pirated software. The consequences of having or distributing pirated software can be serious in some cases. Software piracy is a common practice that can be easily avoided.
Software piracy is an equal offense to downloading of music, movies, books, magazines, or any other
…show more content…
In New Hampshire a man was arrested for software piracy. He ran a website that provided cracks, and keys for over a thousand software programs. He was arrested and went to court facing a maximum punishment of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. This is an example of a more complex software pirating crime, but the FBI or other government agents have uncovered and punished many others committing crimes equal to this one and less severe than this one. Penalties for less severe acts of software piracy are included in the copyright act. “The Copyright Act allows a copyright owner to recover monetary damages measured either by: (1) actual damages plus any additional profits of the infringer attributable to the infringement, or (2) statutory damages, of up to $150,000 for each copyrighted work infringed. The copyright owner also has the right to permanently enjoin an infringer from engaging in further infringing activities and may be awarded costs and attorneys' fees. The law also permits destruction or other reasonable disposition of all infringing copies and devices by which infringing copies have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights. In cases of willful infringement, criminal penalties may also be assessed against the infringer.”
The act of software piracy has many negative affects to consumers and creators of software. Consumers are affected because if programs are
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
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.
In the various media industries there are extreme worries concerning unauthorized downloading and copying of their products known as piracy. Piracy of items has been part of commerce for centuries; counterfeiting of currency for example. With the information age the ease at which media can be pirated has caused an explosion of this phenomenon. This practice is an illegal act that is done by individuals for personal use and also for profit. The first do not seem to see the issues caused by this practice such as; the spreading of viruses and lower quality products. We will use Reynolds' Seven-Step Ethical Decision Making Approach for the breakdown of the ethical reality of software piracy.
Piracy also often introduces infrastructure and security concerns. The sites used for software and media piracy often leave visitors with malware, viruses and spyware, which can compromise private business data and
Computer piracy has been a discussion point for a long time, but many people view piracy differently. I decided to find out how BSA defines piracy. BSA (The Software Alliance) is the leading advocate for the global software industry. BSA defines piracy as, “unauthorized use or distribution of copyrighted software. It includes downloading, sharing, selling, or installing multiple copies of licensed software. Unlicensed software use also includes license infringement – installing a piece of software more times than the license permits – as well as sharing software license codes, uploading software codes to websites so others can download and use it, sharing software license codes or activation keys, as well as user IDs and passwords for web-based software applications.” ("Compliance & Enforcement," n.d.)
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.”
Darrell Panethiere wrote in “The Persistence Of Piracy” on page 2 that “'Piracy refers to the activity of manufacturing unauthorised copies ('pirate copies') of protected material and dealing with such copies by way of distribution and
business software in the United States was obtained illegally, which 30 percent of the piracy
Music piracy should be illegal because downloading music for free is stealing. Music piracy can cause
Online Piracy is a federal crime and should be prosecuted as so. The FBI shows warnings to constantly remind people about the consequences of piracy. For example, "Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000" (12), People for piracy say as well that because everyone is doing it, it's okay. But as the author of a musicians rant says, "last time I checked, when something is wrong, it's wrong. Period."(13). No matter what, Piracy is stealing and stealing is a crime that should be punished as so.
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
China is largest and developed country in the world and where piracy prevails since very long and still to continue. Before it was in the form of material copying and today it exists as digital copying. Therefore, there is a strong call for a more powerful copyright protection. Piracy is a serious ethical problem in China. China is getting more concern on the piracy now than the past. Piracy is an illegal duplication and distribution and selling of copies of the materials copyrighted, without the permission by law ("Digital piracy," 2011). Today, the term is universal and is used not only in relation to books but also for music, movies, software, pharmaceuticals and inventions as well as other intellectual properties.( Adrian Johns, 2011),
Perhaps one of the greatest modern issues concerns piracy and the legality of copyright infringement imposed upon acts of piracy. There exists a gray area with the laws that regulate cyber interactions. On one hand, the debate that the act of illegally obtaining copies of work or fiction falls under fair play. Inversely, the other side portrays the argument that piracy damages revenue and intellectual progression of artist, directors, and producers. The latter reigns more true in the case of the American justice system and presents an argument of mutual fairness. Piracy, in all its forms, should be treated as an illegal and punishable activity. Writers and designers must expose themselves to the risk of lost royalties due to piracy.
For electronic and audio-visual media, unauthorized reproduction and distribution is often referred to as piracy (however there is no legal basis for this and indeed in one US copyright lawsuit the judge ordered the plaintiff's legal team to stop using the term). This may occur through organized black market reproduction and distribution channels, sometimes with blatantly open commercial sale (as along the sidewalks of Manhattan's notorious Canal Street), or through purely private
I think, if you say that I have not ever got involved theft, you should think once more. You know, nowadays, all people can use the Internet easily. Especially, we dowload a lot of programs from the Internet. When we click on a site for dowloading programs, you can see so much advertisements which have free programs. However, there is someone who endeovors for these programs. In our day which nobody gives a thing nearly without expecting something in return, do you think that these programs are free? Certainly,it is not. It must be a provision of these services because engineers who design a software may spend months. But some of people sell these labours at own site by stealing. Of course, they are thieves, however who are we using these illegal programs? Most often, unconsciously, we may be included to this crime. However, this does not change our offence. In fact, using illegal software damages in three different ways. These are damages which are doing to person by oneself , are doing to the goverment budget, anda re penalties.