Perspective: The Ten Commandments of fighting software pirates

Unwitting consumers at times get duped into buying pirated software online. This results in substantial lost revenue to the true developers of the software while consumers get stuck with subpar applications.

Indeed, one study estimated that 21 percent of software in the United States in 2005 was unlicensed, accounting for lost revenue of $6.9 billion.

But tech companies are taking the fight to software pirates. Spearheaded by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), their combined efforts last year led to the shutdown of more than 16,000 auctions believed to be offering pirated and counterfeit products.

If the price for software is too good to be true, that probably is the case.

The BSA now has gone one step further by launching an Internet fraud Web site. The purpose is to raise awareness and provide education about online fraud. The BSA also wants testimony from individuals who will be asked to provide their own accounts of how they were lured into purchasing pirated software online.

As part of its education efforts, the BSA offers 10 points of advice for consumers that can help them avoid being victims of online pirates.

• Trust your instincts. If the price for software is too good to be true, that probably is the case.

• Make sure it's authentic. Be wary of software products that do not include proof of authenticity like original manuals and warranties.

• Read the label. Be suspicious of products that do not look genuine, such as those with handwritten labels.

• Beware of backups. Avoid sellers offering to make backup copies, as this suggests illegality.

• Steer clear of compilations. Stay away from compilations of software from different publishers on a single disk or CD.

• Look for the trust mark. A trust mark from a known organization such as BBBOnline helps demonstrate that an online retailer is reliable and has a proven track record.

• Do your homework. Review the feedback section on auction sites to see comments about sellers based on prior transactions.

• Get the seller's address, if possible. You may not have recourse against a seller if you cannot locate the seller.

• Keep receipts. Print and retain copies of your order numbers and sales confirmations at least until you have confirmed that purchased software is legal and not pirated.

• Be careful when crossing the border. Use extreme caution when dealing with software sellers in other countries. Software piracy runs rampant in some countries, and there can be substantial difficulties encountered if a foreign transaction does not proceed properly.

While the BSA's new Web site alone is not a silver bullet that will end the sale of pirated software online for all time, its educational tips, valuable links and informational gathering tools are one step in the right direction.

Be careful out there.

Biography
Eric J. Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris. His focus includes information technology and intellectual-property disputes. To receive his weekly columns, send an e-mail to [e-mail] with "Subscribe" in the subject line. This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only, and it should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's law firm or its individual partners.

More Perspectives

[aabcdefghij987654321]

BSA is still full of it.

They start with this obvious lie "one study estimated that 21 percent of software in the United States in 2005 was unlicensed, accounting for lost revenue of $6.9 billion."

I see a lot of machines and it's been a very long time since I've seen a machine with any unlicensed software on it. Granted this is in a corporate environment but a figure of 21% is just too large to be believable.

The rest of the article is ok but they've got to stop leading with lies.

[damienlittre]

Maybe not

Actually, this figure might be accurate. Many people use pirated software on their home computers, especially the Microsoft Office suite (which can be quite costly if you are not entitled to an educational discount for instance).

Most businesses, on the other hand, tend to shy away from pirated software out of fear of litigation but, more importantly, because thwy need reliable software (and the vender is unlikely to support unlicensed software).

[aabcdefghij987654321]

BSA is still full of it.

They start with this obvious lie "one study estimated that 21 percent of software in the United States in 2005 was unlicensed, accounting for lost revenue of $6.9 billion."

I see a lot of machines and it's been a very long time since I've seen a machine with any unlicensed software on it. Granted this is in a corporate environment but a figure of 21% is just too large to be believable.

The rest of the article is ok but they've got to stop leading with lies.

[damienlittre]

Maybe not

Actually, this figure might be accurate. Many people use pirated software on their home computers, especially the Microsoft Office suite (which can be quite costly if you are not entitled to an educational discount for instance).

Most businesses, on the other hand, tend to shy away from pirated software out of fear of litigation but, more importantly, because thwy need reliable software (and the vender is unlikely to support unlicensed software).

[rcrusoe]

True loss is grossly overstated.

IMO, the claim of $6.9 billion lost is bogus. Even if 21% of all
installed software is pirated, very little of it could be counted as
a loss.

Why? Because faced with purchasing MS Office, for example, or
downloading a free program like OpenOffice, most people would
go for the free software. In my experience, most pirated
software is ripped off from work, or copied from friends just to
have. It is rarely something that is used frequently enough to
justify buying.

In my job, I frequently get asked, "Can you make me a copy of
MS Office for my home (my daughter's, son's etc.) computer?

I then give them a copy of OpenOffice and tell them how to set
it up to open/save MS formats by default. So far, everyone that
has received a copy has loved the program. And most have
made copies for friends.

Joe Sixpack may be using pirated software, but he'd never pay
for a legal copy if you take it away.

[rcrusoe]

True loss is grossly overstated.

IMO, the claim of $6.9 billion lost is bogus. Even if 21% of all
installed software is pirated, very little of it could be counted as
a loss.

Why? Because faced with purchasing MS Office, for example, or
downloading a free program like OpenOffice, most people would
go for the free software. In my experience, most pirated
software is ripped off from work, or copied from friends just to
have. It is rarely something that is used frequently enough to
justify buying.

In my job, I frequently get asked, "Can you make me a copy of
MS Office for my home (my daughter's, son's etc.) computer?

I then give them a copy of OpenOffice and tell them how to set
it up to open/save MS formats by default. So far, everyone that
has received a copy has loved the program. And most have
made copies for friends.

Joe Sixpack may be using pirated software, but he'd never pay
for a legal copy if you take it away.

[The user with no name]

some of these are bogus

while some of these 'commandments' are logical others are just the s/w industry trying to stop what THEY say is illegal while in reality it is not.

For instance the thing about no manual means piracy is laughable. For example MS says that ANY site that sells a 'CD only' (even a hologram CD that IS made by MS) IS illegal software because quote: "real MS software comes in a retail box and has a manual".

While some sites may be buying in bulk, or dealing in OEM discs this DOES NOT mean the software is pirated. It MAY mean that the s/w company doesn't like the fact that people are doing it but illegal? To paraphrase one site: The law says you can sell what you have bought.

These companies may wish the law said something different and didn't allow people to 'violate' the terms and conditions of use (I'm sure the EULA's probably say you can't do it) but being ILLEGAL software and being LEGAL software that is SOLD in a manner that upsets the manufacturer is two totally different things!

Price to good to be true? What they really mean is if the price is BELOW MSRP then it is illegal! But again there are many legit reasons why this could be the case without it being illegal software. I had a friend who bought a WinXP disc from a site and when it arrived it was a Gateway disc of XP. Sure MS probably HATED the fact that he was able to buy that disc, but the disc WAS NOT HOME MADE (you can tell). Did this sale violate the EULA who cares. If the disc was legally acquired by the firm and legally acquired by my friend AND is an actual stamped XP disc then where is the Piracy??

[The user with no name]

some of these are bogus

while some of these 'commandments' are logical others are just the s/w industry trying to stop what THEY say is illegal while in reality it is not.

For instance the thing about no manual means piracy is laughable. For example MS says that ANY site that sells a 'CD only' (even a hologram CD that IS made by MS) IS illegal software because quote: "real MS software comes in a retail box and has a manual".

While some sites may be buying in bulk, or dealing in OEM discs this DOES NOT mean the software is pirated. It MAY mean that the s/w company doesn't like the fact that people are doing it but illegal? To paraphrase one site: The law says you can sell what you have bought.

These companies may wish the law said something different and didn't allow people to 'violate' the terms and conditions of use (I'm sure the EULA's probably say you can't do it) but being ILLEGAL software and being LEGAL software that is SOLD in a manner that upsets the manufacturer is two totally different things!

Price to good to be true? What they really mean is if the price is BELOW MSRP then it is illegal! But again there are many legit reasons why this could be the case without it being illegal software. I had a friend who bought a WinXP disc from a site and when it arrived it was a Gateway disc of XP. Sure MS probably HATED the fact that he was able to buy that disc, but the disc WAS NOT HOME MADE (you can tell). Did this sale violate the EULA who cares. If the disc was legally acquired by the firm and legally acquired by my friend AND is an actual stamped XP disc then where is the Piracy??

[Russell McOrmond]

The Ten Commandments of software manufacturers fighting FLOSS

I posted an article with my rebuttal of this article.

http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/2507

The summary is that the very things the author asks people to do has the "side-effect" (or hidden agenda -- you decide) of discouraging people from using Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) competition. The "problems" that the software manufacturers have are largely the logical outcome of their chosen business model, and it is inappropriate to try to discourage people from the only viable long-term solution to the problem which to switch from software manufacturing to FLOSS.

[Russell McOrmond]

The Ten Commandments of software manufacturers fighting FLOSS

I posted an article with my rebuttal of this article.

http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/2507

The summary is that the very things the author asks people to do has the "side-effect" (or hidden agenda -- you decide) of discouraging people from using Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) competition. The "problems" that the software manufacturers have are largely the logical outcome of their chosen business model, and it is inappropriate to try to discourage people from the only viable long-term solution to the problem which to switch from software manufacturing to FLOSS.

[Russell McOrmond]

You and I are counted as "pirates" in these bogus studies.

Look closely at the so-called "piracy study" being quoted. They count the number of computers shipped, estimate the amount of BSA member software that they want to be installed (nearly everyone of course), subtract the number of boxes they actually shipped and claim the difference is copyright infringement.

The reality is that every copy of OpenOffice.org you legally distributed is included in these bogus statistics as if it were infringement. I have purchased many computers over the years, and don't use any BSA member company software on any of them, and I know that all my computers count in the bogus claims of "infringement".

The reality is that there is no simple statistical method possible to obtain valid numbers, so any of these claims should be taken with more than just a grain of salt.

[Russell McOrmond]

You and I are counted as "pirates" in these bogus studies.

Look closely at the so-called "piracy study" being quoted. They count the number of computers shipped, estimate the amount of BSA member software that they want to be installed (nearly everyone of course), subtract the number of boxes they actually shipped and claim the difference is copyright infringement.

The reality is that every copy of OpenOffice.org you legally distributed is included in these bogus statistics as if it were infringement. I have purchased many computers over the years, and don't use any BSA member company software on any of them, and I know that all my computers count in the bogus claims of "infringement".

The reality is that there is no simple statistical method possible to obtain valid numbers, so any of these claims should be taken with more than just a grain of salt.

[Bong Dizon]

Use free and open source software (FOSS)

The best and only way to fight software pirates is to use free and open source software (FOSS). The concept of "piracy" does not exist in the FOSS paradigm.

[parodyca]

FOSS can be pirated too

If pirating mean infringing the copyright of the author then sure FOSS can be pirated too. The only way to legally distribute FOSS software is to distribute it with full source. (or at least the ability and willingness to do so upon request) The cool thing with FOSS is that end users cannot infringe copyright, however companies or individuals who make derived works sure can. This is as it should be. :-)

[Bong Dizon]

Use free and open source software (FOSS)

The best and only way to fight software pirates is to use free and open source software (FOSS). The concept of "piracy" does not exist in the FOSS paradigm.

[parodyca]

FOSS can be pirated too

If pirating mean infringing the copyright of the author then sure FOSS can be pirated too. The only way to legally distribute FOSS software is to distribute it with full source. (or at least the ability and willingness to do so upon request) The cool thing with FOSS is that end users cannot infringe copyright, however companies or individuals who make derived works sure can. This is as it should be. :-)