Crime That Pays (and Pretty Well, Too)

Question 1
What is the relationship among governments, institutions, organizations, and companies
in developing legal codes to fight software piracy?

Answer:
Software technology was facing problem of digital piracy. Software piracy is the illegal
distribution and copying of software for personal and business use. In USA software is
automatically protected by federal copyright law from the moment of its creation. US
copyright
copyright act grants
grants the copyright owner “the exclusive
exclusive right to protect
protect the copyrighted
copyrighted
work” and to distribute the copies
cop ies of it.
Accordi
According
ng to US federa
federall law copyrig
copyright
ht infrin
infringem
gement
ent is ill
illegal
egal and punish
punishabl
able.
e. But

worldwide software piracy is very high and the penalty is very less for it. Software
maker, organization, companies have to bare billions of dollars losses every year.
Governments, institutions, organization, and companies are interest in persuing solution
to the piracy problem and for this they develop legal codes to fight software industry
association BSA (Business Software Alliance). The Software and Information Industry
Associati
Association
on (SIIA)
(SIIA) and the Internatio
International
nal Anti-Counte
Anti-Counterfei
rfeiting
ting Coalition
Coalition (IACC)
(IACC) made
efforts to spur government to toughen laws.
BSA maintains ______ more than 80 countries and each nation unit works to promote
legal online world by negotiating with governments and consumers in the international
soft
softwa
ware
re an
and
d inte
intern
rnet
et ma
mark
rket
ets.
s. Its
Its work
workin
ing
g to ed
educ
ucat
atee co
cons
nsum
umer
erss on soft
softwa
ware
re
management and copyright protection, cyber security, e-commerce and other internet
related issues. BSA members include companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Dell, IBM, Intel
and Apple computer.
Softwa
Software
re makers
makers,, governm
government
ent and associ
associati
ations
ons,, acting
acting both
both singly
singly and jointl
jointly,
y, hav
havee
successfull
successfully
y lobbied
lobbied transnation
transnational
al industries
industries to help police piracy. In the early 2000 for 
 __________ the 184 members nation of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) pledged to protect intellectual property worldwide by developing IPR treaties.
 

WIPO the lobbied members to ratify an array of anti-piracy treaties – namely the World
Copyright Treaty) and the WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).
The World Trade Organization (WTO) enacted an agreement on Trade Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which is designed to regulate enforcement of 
copyright
copyright and counterfeit
counterfeiting
ing violations
violations.. Hoping collective political arrangements
arrangements and
legal actions by companies, associations, governments and institutions would lead to a
decline in global software piracy.

Question 3
Can th
thee so
soft
ftwar
waree indus
industr
try
y ex
expec
pectt to co
cont
ntro
roll so
soft
ftwa
ware
re pi
pira
racy
cy wi
with
thout
out re
rely
lyin
ing
g on
government? Why would the software industry dislike greater government regulation?

Answer:

Yes, the software industries do have the ability to control software piracy without relying
on government. As we can see from the case that, companies like Adobe and Symentec
took initiative to create awareness to public about the illegal copying of softwares. The
other companies such as Microsoft also took initiative to control software piracy. They
hired former federal and police investigator, stages software strings, relayed information
to prosecutors and took legal action against thousands of technologically illicit websites.
Use of hologr
holograms
ams and regist
registrat
ration
ion codes
codes assist
assisted
ed the compani
companies
es to authen
authentic
ticate
ate the
so
soft
ftwa
ware
res.
s. Ot
Other
her compan
companie
iess us
used
ed inte
intern
rnet
et se
sear
arch
ch en
engi
gine
ness to sn
snea
eak
k websi
website
tess th
that
at
distributed and sold pirated software.
The softwa
software
re indust
industri
ries
es might
might not like
like the governm
government
ent regula
regulatio
tions
ns in the softwa
software
re
  busine
business.
ss. As for exampl
example,
e, in the United
United St
State
ates,
s, gov
govern
ernmen
mentt introd
introduce
uced
d number
number of 
initiatives. FBI and Custom services, conducted raid worldwide against so-called warez
groups who reproduces, modified and distributed pirated software over the internet. It is
neverth
neverthele
eless
ss a good initiat
initiative.
ive. On the other hand
hand the Senate
Senate approv
approved
ed the Tradde
Promot
Promotion
ion Author
Authorit
ity
y which
which gave presid
president
ent more
more power
power to techno
technolog
logy
y relate
related
d trade
trade
agreement. Now the software companies will have less power with them as government
wi
will
ll be in charg
chargee for
for negot
negotia
iati
tion.
on. This
This su
sure
rely
ly ca
can
n sl
slow
ow down
down th
thee te
tech
chnol
nolog
ogica
icall

development.
 

Question 4
How do you think consumers in high-theft countries justify software piracy? Similarly,
what ideas or conditions lead consumers
co nsumers in low-theft countries to respect IPRs?

Answer:
Consumers in high-theft countries do not understand the differences between the pirated
and the original software. Moreover, they are in support of software piracy. They think 
that any property as being common to all and existing for the benefit of all. They do not
understand the consequences that might occur due to the usage of the pirated software.
They do not understand the concept of intellectual property rights. All the high-theft
countri
countries
es are mainly
mainly the develop
developing
ing countri
countries.
es. The income
income of any individu
individual
al in a
developing country is not even close to that of a developed country. They will always go
for the products which are cheaper than any other. Normally the genuine copies of the

softwares are far more expensive than the pirated copy of the same software. Therefore
they will go for acquiring the software that is cheap to them. They also believe that
software makers should allow informational and technical wealth to be openly shared
with customers. They also think that piracy is the most effective way of dealing with
Western monopolists who charge exorbitant prices for the necessary tools of economic
development.
On the other hand, people in the low-theft countries well understand the concept of the
intellectual property rights. They understand that there is a reason behind the copyright
act. Another thing is that, the political and the legal system of the low-theft countries are
far stronger than that of in a high-theft country.