Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Good Governance

Journal Article Review

Saturday 5:00 – 8:00 PM PST
Submitted by: Riki Jonas A. Tagpuno

TITLE: TO PIRATE OR NOT TO PIRATE

SUMMARY OF READING:

The paper focused on the ethical issues and factors that lead consumers to pirate software rather
than purchase it. Consumer product piracy has been identified as a major threat to the viability of
many businesses (Gupta, Gould, & Pola, 2004). Since the beginning of time, developers have
struggled with the issue of piracy. In terms of lost sales, software piracy is a major economic
issue for marketers (Givon et al., 1995). The most obvious consideration is economic, because
other countries are not supposed to have certain softwares available in their areas. Another
reason would be a reluctance to pay the price due to financial difficulties. Others, on the other
hand, saw pirated software as a loss of profit, while others saw it as a way to increase word-of-
mouth for the specific pirated software. From a legal standpoint, software is a type of intellectual
property (Barton and Malhotra, 1993; Husted, 2000; Tamai, 1998). It can also take the form of
uploading, downloading, and a variety of other direct and indirect violations (Christensen, 1997;
Kopp and Suter, 1998). Furthermore, the authors conducted research and concluded that not only
is software piracy a major concern for marketers, but it is also a complex policy issue (Gupta,
Gould, & Pola, 2004). It was suggested that consumers should be able to have a sufficient
amount of free trial time before purchasing in order to determine whether they really want to
purchase the software or not. Before releasing the software, developers should prioritize risk
reduction. Marketers can address this issue by continuing to market in a way that encourages
consumers to purchase the product legally. It was also suggested that the government could be a
partner by imposing legitimate fines for such activities and being able to broaden such
parameters so that it isn't just a "if not caught, then not guilty" kind of attitude.

REACTION:

While I agree that certain issues, such as physical theft, are more serious than software piracy, I
also understand the developers' concerns. Creating software is not an easy task. This could take
months, if not years, to complete. But I also understand why people would rather pirate software
than buy it. It will always come down to whether you can afford it and whether you truly require
it. While there are free alternatives to certain softwares, people will always prioritize what they
are used to using over the fact that it is free. Furthermore, most programs do not provide an
alternative. While I agree that a software should have adequate marketing and trials. Businesses
should not overprice their products. Make certain subscriptions available for certain softwares
that may benefit those who are unable to purchase the top price, allowing more choice to
consumers before purchasing the product.
APPLICATION IN PHILIPPINE SETTING:

I was guilty of this act prior to having a job in order to afford certain things. This was prevalent
during my student years because I couldn't ask my parents for money to purchase specific
programs to use because technology was still in its early stages. At the time, certain programs,
such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite, were prohibitively expensive. As a result,
my primary option was to pirate those programs. Generate activation keys to unlock the full
functionality of programs without paying a fee. However, when I started college as an I.T. As a
student, I was able to understand the difficulties of creating software by working as a
programmer. I understand how difficult it is for developers to create software only to be
underpaid as a result of software piracy. However, I would like to draw attention to an article
that suggests that people should simply pirate certain games rather than purchasing those low-
cost activation keys that can be found anywhere. It's not just that developers don't get the money
you give G2A, they then have to provide extra customer support for people who ended up with
fake or deactivated keys (Brown, 2019). Because those low-cost generated activation keys are
simply keys that have been used or had problems during registration by others who have already
purchased the program. To end, I promised myself that if I ever get a job, I will support the
developers by purchasing their software and subscribing to services I use on a daily basis, such
as Spotify, Netflix, Windows, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Create Suite.

REFERENCES:

Gupta, P.; Gould, S.; Pola, B. (2004). "To Pirate or Not to Pirate": A Comparative Study of the
Ethical Versus Other Influences on the Consumer's Software Acquisition-Mode Decision.
Journal of Business Ethics.
https://www.proquest.com/openview/99819552f9d6954a827402caac287bd1/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=6472

Brown, F. (2019). Developers tell people to pirate their games instead of using G2A. PC Gamer.
https://www.pcgamer.com/developers-tell-people-to-pirate-their-games-instead-of-using-g2a/