Software piracy is a big problem in the digital age. Companies from software giant Microsoft to small upstarts selling simple PC utilities are victims of having their products pirated, sometimes without the users even being aware that they are using the software in a manner that is
illegal and punishable under law.
To combat piracy, manufacturers have spent billions trying to improve their DRM in an attempt to prevent hackers and crackers from making their products available to would be pirates. Microsoft has engineered their operating system and Office suite with Microsoft Product Activation (MPA, WPA, WGA, and OGA), gaming companies use various methods including obfuscation, encryption (initial release and updates), simple checks (dongles and registration),
guards, and tethering. As the battle continues to rage between software companies and pirates the methods become ever more complex but many believe that this is not the answer and ultimately ends up impacting the legitimate users negatively. Fully functional, pirated copies of MS Windows as well as MS Office suite are readily available for download and installation; if Microsoft and their phenomenal technological and financial resources are unable to stop piracy of their software, then what chance do other companies.
There is another thought though, and that is to accept that it is going to happen and construct your business plan accordingly. Shamus Young is a 39 year old software engineer and offers these five ideas (Young, 2008) on how to get people to buy software instead of pirating it:
1. Make sure the pirates can’t offer a superior product
2. Get closer to the community
3. Offer a demo
4. Entice them with valuable updates
5. Clean house (who is leaking the pre-release copies of your product?)
For more detailed explanations of these points, visit http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1558
So in the end, the general consensus is that piracy is going
to happen, and no amount of money or technological know-how will stop it so
what should the producers do about it? As far as software producers are
concerned, many have taken the path that Victor DeMarines speaks about on his
page and that is “the game industry recognized that piracy was a part of business and optimized its launch plans to maximize revenue within four weeks—the time it takes crackers to break their
copy protection approach.” (DeMarines, 2010)
Works Cited
DeMarines, V. (2010, June 6). How to Combat Software Piracy: From Reaction to Revenue Recovery. Retrieved October 21, 2011, from http://www.eweek.com/:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/How-to-Combat-Software-Piracy-From-Reaction-to-Revenue-Recovery/
Young, S. (2008, March 6). Twenty sided. Retrieved October 21, 2011, from http://www.shamusyoung.com/: http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1558
4 comments:
It is really complicated to stop the piracy because they are becoming more advance and knowledgable. The same people pirating software are the designers and they know the tactics. May be a way to reduce piracy is making the punishment severe for those involved and enforcing the rule.
I agree with Robert. I think that the amount of people downloading illegal music is more than we think. There are multiple sites for the music issue alone and to stop everyone from using these sites would take a lot of work. Maybe eventually piracy will be stopped, but I don't think it will be anytime soon.
There have always been pirates and there always will be pirates. The problem is the ease of pirating electronic goods and the benefits associated with taking a small risk. It also doesn't take any technical skills. One can simply visit a website and download songs and movies. The only risk involved is prosecution (highly unlikely) and viruses. ARRRRGH!
I dont know if it will be possible to stop piracy. I personally do not pirate material. I guess that is why I don't have as may songs on my iPod as my friends. I think the only way to stop it is to have physical measures in place that keep songs from being downloaded.
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