Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 15:35:20 -0600 (CST) Issue 4.63 of Computer underground Digest included the Software Publisher's Association manifesto. I've read it, and it shows a very narrow awareness of the state of software licensing. The SPA asks (and answers) the question, "Is it Okay to copy my colleague's software?" by saying, No, it's not okay to copy your colleague's software. Software is protected by federal copyright law, which says that you can't make such additional copies without the permission of the copyright holder. Permission has been explicitly given with a number of software products. Some of the compiler products contain license agreements that specify terms of use: The software may be used "like a book." One person at a time can read the book, or use the software. Recently, I've seen more packages that allow the purchaser a "travelling license." Either the software comes with permission to copy the software for use at home (or, presumably, at work if you bought it for home use,) or an inexpensive second copy can be purchased for use on a second machine. The above "experiments" in licensing procedures show that the "one program, one copy" philosophy has some viable competitors out there in the world. What the SPA should be saying is, conform to the license agreement that came with your software. The SPA goes on to say that By protecting the investment of computer software companies in software development, the copyright law serves the cause of promoting broad public availability of new, creative, and innovative products. What it promotes in practice are new, derivative, un-innovative knock-offs of popular programs, the profusion of which has been manna from heaven to look and feel lawyers everywhere. Not many developers that I know feel comfortable using the words "new" "creative" and "innovative" all in the same sentence. It's the language of promotion, not innovation. Read the words of industry commentators on the operating systems that we'll have for use in the next ten years. "Where are the applications?" they ask, the new VisiCalc or Dbase III? On the way, perhaps, but I think it safe to say that the SPA will have a small or nonexistent role in their development. The statement above, that ripping off products impedes future development, needs more evidence before I can believe it. Lotus 1-2-3, certainly one of the more illegally copied programs around, hasn't withered on the vine. It's evolved, expanded to new platforms, and in general not suffered the fate that the SPA claims awaits victims of software piracy. Yes, this is a very big example, but if the software was a piece of junk, all the piracy raids in the world would only add a year or more to the closing of the coffin lid. The onanistic Q&A continues with this howler: That makes sense, but what do I get out of purchasing my own software? When you purchase authorized copies of software programs, you receive user guides and tutorials, quick reference cards, the opportunity to purchase upgrades, and technical support from the software publishers. For most software programs, you can read about user benefits in the registration brochure or upgrade flyer in the product box. What you get, more often than not, are promotional discounts for CompuServe, which is a sneaky way of adding the cost of a CIS subscription for the life of the product to the product's cost. You get ads for magazines, books, add-on products from third-party vendors, et cetera. While these may or may not have value to the purchaser of the product, they are not benefits. They are sales brochures for other companies. Technical support is an uneven offering, and who's to say that in ten years all tech support will not be reached by dialing a 900 number? Even upgrades are not what they once were. More than a few companies will accept a competitor's product as qualification for an upgrade. Most of the benefits of doing the right thing are either exaggerated in their value or underestimated in the cost to the consumer. A good rule to remember is that there must be one authorized copy of a software product for every computer upon which it is run. No problem here... Just don't forget to get a definition of what "authorized" means for that product. These companies devote large portions of their earnings to the creation of new software products and they deserve a fair return on their investment. No, they deserve to be evaluated on the merit of their products. (I don't expect to hear that the SPA believes differently, but I could be wrong.) Also, suggest that your management consider conducting a software audit. Oh, yes, let's have more of these! (sarcasm) Something that sends people scurrying to every Mac and PC snooping for unlicensed software, at hours that won't interfere with the normal work of the business... No one who'd have to foot the bill for one of these would propose it unless they *already knew* that there was a problem, and that the funds to get legal would be there. Ah, the stories that I could tell... to the SPA's 800 number, for a cut of the money in bringing these big-time software desperadoes to justice. THE LAW Software is automatically protected by federal copyright law from the moment of its creation. No, it's protected by copyright when the copyright symbol is affixed to the work. This protection does not last forever, either. (A lawyer will no doubt know how long copyrights stay in effect.) This fact, however, does not make it legal to violate the rights of the copyright owner. You can be a copyright holder, but not a copyright owner. Did you buy some-thing when you put the copyright symbol on your work? Software development involves a team effort that blends the creative talents of writers, programmers and graphic artists. It may, or it may not. There are more than a few one or two person shops out there that don't bring big production budgets to their efforts. Piracy diminishes the value of a program and further, deprives the developers of fair compensation. Playing Devil's Advocate for a moment, it can pay off for some developers in some ways. Piracy can be like pollination... It gets your software seen by people who likely would never have bought it. You may curse the lost revenue, but I know a developer or two that turn a blind eye to bug reports from unauthorized users. Who's to say that somebody may buy a copy of something that he saw as pirated way back when? I know that I have. It's not all as black and white as the SPA makes it out to be. Newer and better software can be developed only if the software development team receives a fair price for its efforts. If only the cause and effect chain were as firmly established here as the SPA suggests that it is. Revenue == better software, instead of revenue == that new Porsche. The SPA has established a special toll free number for reports of copyright violations: 1-800-388-7478. The SPA has filed many lawsuits against individuals and companies engaged in the unauthorized duplication of PC software and will continue to do so when it becomes aware of situations that warrant such action. Yes, speaking of fair return on investment... What is the SPA's cut of these lawsuits? If you are an individual user, don't break the law. If you are a software publisher, don't push cruddy software, don't price it too high, don't include shoddy, misleading or no documentation, don't scrimp on help for your customers in using the product, don't go out of business in a year, don't sell your product to a software conglomerate that will raise the price into the stratosphere or take it in directions incompatible with current releases, et cetera. When a few people steal software, everyone loses. No, business writes it off as a loss. Everyone else rolls over and goes back to sleep. :-) About that rap song, well, anybody's a bigger rap fan than I am, but that's crap, not rap. Female: Yeh. And what are you doing in our computer? It's an SPA virus... and don't think that somebody hasn't thought of it: Unlicensed software detected... erasing partition table, root directory area... Re-formatting your hard drive. You will see some SPA messages during this process. Consult your vendor documentation to re-install your licensed software. Tetris and the others, They're all going to fail. No, they're all going to be ported to X-windows, with the source publicly available. :-) Lastly, the CuD moderator(s) describe the end of the rap video: And, fourth period be damned, they play another game (on presumably is a pirated game on the school computer). Nope, it's a pirated computer... A pre-Apple lawsuit Franklin Ace. ;-) I really dislike trade protectionism. As a co-worker's button says, "Keep your lawyers off of my computer!" It's turned an automobile manufacturer or two into immobile sloths that only twitch every now and then to ask for more tariffs on imported cars. Who's to be the software industry's Lee Iacocca? I don't know... What's the SPA president's name? Bob P.S. The biggest repository of pirated software that I've run across was kept on company computers near a hallway covered with SPA posters. Yeah, guys, you really reach 'em. Pity I can't remember the names of individuals or the name of the company in question... Not until 2/21/95, anyway. Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253