Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 15:46:08 EDT
From:         Paul Brown <brown%ERC.MsState.Edu@KENTVM.KENT.EDU>
Subject: File 5--Re: Pirate Software

At CyberArts International 91 (Pasadena November 1991) Chip Hawkins
(who is CEO of Electronic Arts and previously at Apple) asked how many
of his audience had totally legal software running on their systems.
About 3 (out of 400) claimed they were.  Hawkins commented that this
was a typical response regardless of type of audience.

Hawkins commented that new copyright laws are needed that would be
similar to the "reasonable use" regulations that congress introduced
when photocopying became widespread.  He commented that congress would
be unlikely to review copyright again so soon after these revisions.
Most commentators seem to be suggesting that much looser controls are
necessary for two reasons:

a. they will encourage more creative, widespread use of software
   products and therefore lead to greater overall sales

b. people using bootleg copies will eventually want to upgrade or get
   documentation and will get legitimate copies.

Software piracy is a *serious* offence and can lead to serious
consequences.  One anti-piracy organization in the UK ran a series of
ads last year in kids comic books encouraging high-schoolers to "turn
in" their teachers if they allowed school systems to be used for
copying.  Major financial rewards were on offer.

My kids - who live in the UK sent me copies of the ads which I found
very distasteful and reminded me of the Nazi pressure on youth to turn
in Jewish friends and teachers.

I hope nobody interprets this as a defence of piracy - as an artist
and software writer I believe in due reward.

I am interested in the whole idea of copyright (which is based on the
imperfection of the copying process) needs redefining not we all can
easily make perfect copies (of software or databases).

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