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200 lines
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################ ##### ### #
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## ## ## # ## # ###
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# ## # # ## # #####
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## # ## # # ###
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## # ## # # ###
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## # ## # ###########
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## # ## # # ###
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#### # ### # ###
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###### ### ## ### #####
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------------------------------------------------------------------
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| Technical News Association |
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| #5 |
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| The $100,000 Diskette |
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| Typed By Skyewalker |
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| Written By Mike Geraghty |
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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You're driving down the Garden State Parkway in the left lane at
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70mph when out of the blue a State Police cruiser appears in your
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rear view mirror, lights activated and siren wailing. Your flat out
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caught but decide you can outrun the Troop car and speed away in an
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attempt to flee. While fleeing in your car you purposely ram another
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vehicle but loose control of your own car and crash into the guard
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rail. You run into the woods in a desperate attempt to get away. The
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Trooper follows close behind and eventually tackles you and places
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you under arrest.
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The Trooper brings you back to his Troop car, and incidental to
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the arrest conducts a search of your vehicle. As a result of the
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search the Trooper finds one-half ounce of marijuana, one
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unregistered pistol loaded with hollow point bullets, stolen credit
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cards, and 10 unauthorized copies of MS-DOS 5.0 and the proceeds of
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the sale of 10 other copies of DOS.
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Given the above set of circumstances, taking into account all the
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laws that were broken, which violation do you think is the most
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serious? Would you believe the sale and possession of unauthorized
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copies of DOS? That's right.
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Just recently, Congress passed, and President Bush signed into
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law a new set of penalties regarding software piracy and copyright
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infringement. Software piracy is now a felony. The penalties include
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liability for damages suffered by the copyright owner plus any
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profits of the infringer that are attributable to the copying, or
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statutory damages of up to $100,000 for each work infringed. The
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unauthorized duplication of software is also a federal crime if done
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willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage of private
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financial gain. Criminal penalties include fines of as much as
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$250,000 and jail terms of up to 5 years.
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Unfortunately many of us don't realize the seriousness of the
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penalties involved in software piracy. Hack, it seems so harmless to
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copy a game and pass it onto a friend so that he/she may enjoy the
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game just like you. What are friends for? The lax attitude of the
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general public to what is now a serious crime is sobering. To many
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copying software is done brazenly and without guilt, more so than the
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average driver who disregards the speed limit while keeping up with
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the flow of traffic. It seems harmless. but none the less, it's
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illegal. But a speeding ticket doesn't involve a $100,000 fine.
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Software is protected by federal copyright laws at the time of
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its creation. These rights are explicitly stated in the Copyright
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Act, in Title 17 of the U.S.Code. In essence the Copyright Act gives
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the owner of the copyright the exclusive rights to reproduce the
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copyrighted work, and to distribute copies of the copyrighted work
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(Section 106).
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With all copyrighted software that you buy, you are in essence
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purchasing a license to use the software. You are not an owner of the
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software and therefore your rights are set forth according to the
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license agreement contained within the package. These licenses vary
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and many are very confusing. A rule of thumb to follow with these
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licenses in to understand that you now own the right to copy the
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software onto a single computer and to make another copy for archival
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purposes only.
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We may not all agree on the restrictions of these licenses
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however, rather than just disregarding the license agreement and
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breaking the law, writing a letter to the owner of the copyright
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stating your problem with the license is a more feasible course of
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action. Recently, I received an Atlas program that listed just about
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every street in the U.S. I travel around the state frequently and
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figured it would be a great tool in helping me navigate through
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various cities and neighborhoods. I also thought that I could now
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print out a great map to my house so that it would be simple to find.
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After creating the map and while waiting for the printer to print the
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25 copies, I read through the license agreement. In it was a
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statement that "prohibited the use of this product for navigation by
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land, sea, or air". There went my plans for that product. This is one
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example of unreasonable license agreements. For what else would you
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use an atlas? I don't agree with the license, but then again my
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disagreement doesn't give me the right to disregard it. I returned
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the program.
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In response to many dissatisfied users, software companies are
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beginning to change the restrictions on its licensing policies.
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Rather than one copy per computer, some manufacturers allow a user to
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copy the program to multiple computers as long as it is not used
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simultaneously. Borland has a "No Nonsense" policy that follows along
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those lines. I strongly urge you to read through the license
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agreements included with your software. They can be very educational
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and some might surprise you.
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Other actions taken by software manufacturers in response to
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licensing confusion is the introduction of site licenses for
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businesses. This is where a business purchases a software program
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which includes one set of diskettes and manuals but licenses for the
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software for more than one computer. In some instances more than one
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set of manuals and/or diskettes are included. Network utility
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companies offer a variety of utilities to ensure that license
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agreements are adhered to across Local Area Networks (LANs). One such
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product is Site Lock whereby the network administrator can set the
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number of licenses which the company owns so that only that many
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users may access the licensed software at any one time. Not only does
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an arrangement like this ensure that the company stays within the
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law, but it also allows the company to save money by purchasing a set
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number of licenses rather than a license for each user with a login
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account. This follows the premise that not every user will need to
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access a given program at all times.
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In addition to the copyright infringement laws dealing with
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duplication of software these is also a Software Rental Amendments
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Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-650). This law prohibits the rental,
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leasing, or lending of original copies of any software without the
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express permission of the copyright owner.
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At one time the CJPCUG considered setting up a CD-ROM rental
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committee that would purchase software on CD-ROM and charge members a
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monthly rental fee for the use of this software. The intentions
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behind the idea were above reproach, unfortunately as we researched
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the matter we came across the Software Rental Amendments Act. Our
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plans were brought to a screeching halt.
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So who loses when software is pirated? I'm sure it doesn't affect
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the multimillionaire CEO's. Bill Gates is not going to feel the pinch
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of lost profits by one person copying DOS 5.0. Phillippe Kahn is not
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filing chapter 11 over an unauthorized copy of Quattro Pro and Jim
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Manzi won't be homeless if you share a copy of Ami Pro with a friend.
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In the end its folks like you and I who will be hurt. Just like the
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dregs who commit insurance fraud which thereby raises the premiums
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for honest folks like you and I, those that pirate software will also
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affect your pocketbook.
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And when the software is pirated who is there to enforce the law?
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Do you call the local P.D.? The State Police? How about the FBI or
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Secret Service? Unfortunately, all of these law enforcement agencies
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are too understaffed and underfunded to deal with all the problems
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that abound in society. So the chances that they have a unit to deal
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with computer crimes or if they even understand computer crime is
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remote. For now the reporting agency is the Software Publishers
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Association (SPA) an organization similar to MADD (Mothers Against
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Drunk Driving), only they look out for the rights of piracy victims.
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With this article I hope that I've made you aware of the
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circumstances involving software piracy. I'm sure there are many
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questions that I've provoked with this article. If you would like
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more information on the above topics of have specific questions be
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sure to contact the SPA at:
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Software Publishers Association
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1730 M. St., NW, Suite 700
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Washington, D.C. 20036
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Phone: 202-452-1600
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Fax: 202-223-8756
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Piracy Hotline: 1-800-388-7478
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And remember, as I pirate their slogan,
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DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY!
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I would like to personally thank the CJPCUG (Central Jersey
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PC Users Group) for their permision to rewrite this artical for
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distribution. They can be reached at
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Central Jersey PC Users Group
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366 Hudson Drive
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Brick, New Jersey 08723
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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Technical News Association Distribution Sites
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The Wall BBS (908)294-8830
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Skyline BBS (908)363-3832
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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