Software Piracy…

…a reality check!!!
An introductory talk

Presented by

Dr. Tridib R. Sarma

Associate Professor, Systems and Operations,
School of Management Sciences,
Tezpur University

+91 94350 80075 / tridib_rs@rediffmail.com

COPYRIGHT No matter what you may
is the Right to Copy
have commented on
Facebook,
but Copyright IS NOT the
Right to Copy!!!!
 Software Piracy…
“copyright infringement of software”
…victimless crime!
…harmless!!
…not a big problem!!!

40% percentage of all business software that is pirated

$128 billion amount of money lost annually due to software piracy

34% annual increase in pirated software

…remember this slide, we’ll something here later on

 Hard disk loading is commercial software piracy. System
builders purchase a legal copy of software, but then repro-

Piracy Mechanisms…
duce, copy or install the software onto computer hard disks.
Then, a computer is sold with the hard disk containing the
pre-installed software

 Softloading or Softlifting Making illegal copies of

purchased software for a few
family members or friends.
At home, University campus, offices…
 Hard disk loading
Purchasing a ‘unloaded’ m/c - loaded with OS, work-suites, etc
 Renting
Unauthorised ‘renting’ to a different m/c or campus or user
 Unbundling (OEM Unbundling) act of selling software separately that is
legally sold only when bundled with
Printer drivers, w/o the printer!!! another package.

 Counterfeiting fake replicas of

the real product.
Multiple copies (burnt / loaded)
 Online piracy
The latest fad
Piracy over the Net…
Warez are copyrighted
works distributed without
 Warez fees or royalties

File sharing over DarkNet - not commercial software counterfeiting!!!

 Compromised FTP Servers

…of the bygone days with low security and easier access

 Cracks / Crackz
…disassembly, reverse engineering!!!

 Zero-Day / 0-Day
…the ultimate challenge!!

 Keygens / Keygenz
…key generators, as in Die Hard 4.0
Piracy over the Net…
 Templates
…when your webpage/site will look exactly like that of

 Torrent! Napster!! Gnutella!!!

…are you sure the ‘shares’ are permitted

 Online stores / Auction portals

…beware of softcopies on eBay, Amazon

 Serials / Serialz
…for activating trialwares n freewares, usually for perpetual use

 Cheat codes
…just to win that Game!!
 Copyright Protection
Manufacturer Authority

The Software Publisher Government of countries

Association (SPA) , a division
of Software Information World bodies (WIPO)
Manufacturer
Industry Association (SIIA)

Anti-piracy web sites > Legal framework

> Copyright protection

User
Copyright Protection
techniques
 Manual look-ups
What is the fourth word on the third sentence on page 539

 Trojan crash program

Hidden codes that crashes/reboots/slows the Game slowly but surely

 CD Copy Protection Methods (Tomb Raider)

Oversize add-ons, Fake Table of Contents (TOC)

 SecureROM (FIFA)
Hidden mirror file, with ‘uncopiable’ codes

 LaserLock (MetroPolice), SafeDisc, CD-Cops….

Copyright Protection
techniques
 Dongles
Duplicating hardware is harder than copying software

 Internet protection
Serial no. already on use?? Necessary patches on the Net

 CD Hologram
 Certificate of Authenticity
 Serial Numbers
Software piracy is
acceptable
…due to it’s advantages

 Cost
 Unavailability
 Easy to Acquire
 Anonymity
 Profit
Software piracy is
unacceptable
…due to it’s disadvantages
 Illegal – fined and jailed if caught!!!
 Risky– apart from official punishment, what about embedded

infections??

 Unproductive – no manuals, no upgrades, no support

Software piracy is
ethically acceptable
 I believe in the freedom of information and expression
 I presume software piracy doesn't victimise anyone
 I don’t think the software is really worth the money they're
charging
 The software is buggy, I’ll fix it
 I’m only ‘testing’ it. If I like it, I’ll pay for it later on
 If its there to be stolen, its worth doing that !!!
 They made lots of profit – won’t hurt ‘em if I make a copy
 Copying is not stealing, and anyway copying is not the
problem, distributing is!
Software piracy is
ethically unacceptable
 Your belief is not as important as society’s benefit
 Victimless crime?? Monetary loss and job cuts!!
 Effort of the grey cells cannot be free
 Beta versions may have bugs, but why use that commercially
 Stealing is never ethical, no matter what
 Revenue and Profit keeps an organization alive and active
 Alternately, we’ll have to accept pop-up and banners for all of
our software.
Crime n Punishment
 Infected software, machine and the Net
 Confiscation of software and equipment
 Fine
 Prosecution
 Imprisonment
 Social stigma
 Loss of Goodwill, and business
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/antipiracy/docs/piracy10.pdf
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
The fight n Fighters
BSA | The Software Alliance
Play It Cybersafe
Bust Your Boss!
 Software Piracy…
“copyright infringement of software”
…victimless crime!
…harmless!!
…not a big problem!!!

40% percentage of all business software that is pirated

$128 billion amount of money lost annually due to software piracy

34% annual increase in pirated software

109,000 average jobs lost due to piracy a decade ago!!!

175,700 additional jobs expected to be lost due to piracy