Facts and Figures
- Over 40% of all software
in use is illegally copied.
- Last year software
piracy cost the industry $11.2 billion in lost revenue.
- Software piracy cost
130,000 jobs in the US alone in 1996.
- By 2005, it is estimated
that number will reach 350,000.
- Software piracy cost
US businesses $6 million in fines and legal fees in 1997.
Contributing
Factors to Software Piracy
- Explosive growth in
the number of people accessing the Internet.
- Ease of access to
the Internet has increased with the advances in Technology.
- Most Internet piracy
can be accomplished in one's home or office with very little risk
of detection.
- Resources are considered
intangible
Channels for
Piracy
- E-Mail
- News Groups
- Internet Chat
- Mail Order
- File Transfer Protocol
sites (FTP)
- Serial Number Postings
- World Wide Web Home
Pages
- Warez Sites –
"Warez" is slang for software that has been obtained
illegally - pirated.
Why is Software
Piracy a Bad Idea?
- Lack of technical
support available to registered users.
- Risk of a fatal system
crash because of exposures to viruses, corrupt disks or otherwise
defective software.
- Lack of software upgrades.
- It's illegal! Internet
piracy is a form of copyright infringement.
- Civil penalties for
copyright infringement include civil injunction, actual damages
or statutory damages up to $10,000 per infringement.
- In 1997, the President
signed into law the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act, making it easier
to prosecute software pirates on the Internet. Now you can be
prosecuted even if you do not make money from your infringement!
What are your
rights to software?
- The purchase of software
only allows you to utilize that software in the manner outlined
by the software publisher. The copyright does not transfer.
- You are only allowed
a certain number of copies.
- You may only install
the software on the number of machines you have licenses for.
- You may not copy
documentation.
Responsibilities
as a User
- Purchase genuine software
products.
- Read the license carefully.
- Install software in
accordance with the license agreement.
What to Watch
For
- Avoid loose or hand
labeled diskettes.
- Avoid software at
prices that are "too-good-to-be true."
- Know what is happening
at your campus.
- A company is liable
for actions of their employees.
- You don't have to
be the person making the copies to be liable under the Copyright
Law.
Create a Campus
Policy
- Outline what entails
a license.
- Detail that only a
backup copy may be made.
- State that documentation
may not be copied.
- Outline disciplinary
action.
Perform software
audits
- Make sure all software
licenses are documented and accessible.
- Date received and
installed.
- Tag number of the
workstation.
- Program name and version.
- Location of the computer.
- Type of license.
- Remove software that
you no longer use.
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