Software Piracy

MeCom-3rd Sem
 What is Software Piracy ?

The copyright infringement of software

or software piracy refers to several
practices which involve the unauthorized
copying of computer software
Activities that may constitute
infringement
 Creating a copy and/or selling it
 Creating a copy and giving it to
someone else.
 Creating a copy to serve as a backup.
 Renting the original software
 Types of copyright
infringement of software
 CD-R infringement
 Commercial Use of Non-commercial Software
 Counterfeiting
 Hard-disk loading
 Internet infringement
 OEM infringement/unbundling
 Softlifting ( loading into several machines)
 Unrestricted client access infringement
The effects of copyright infringement on
digital culture

 Peer to peer (P2P) file sharing

 economic loss to copyright owner
 negatively affects the economy by
decreasing the profits
"piracy helped the young generation
discover computers. It set off the
development of the IT industry in
Romania."
…………Traian Băsescu, the president of Romania
Microsoft admits that piracy of its Windows
operating system has helped give it huge
market share (90%) in China that will boost
its revenues when these users "go legit."

Bill Gates
Existing and proposed laws

End user license agreements (EULA)

Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act
(UCITA),
 Under the proposed US Uniform Computer
Information Transactions Act (UCITA), a controversial
model law that has been adopted in Virginia and
Maryland, software manufacturers are granted broad
rights to shut down unauthorized software copiers
without court intervention similar to some of the
provisions found in Title II of the US DMCA, (Digital
Millennium Copyright Act ) the Online Copyright
Infringement Liability Limitation Act
 Title I of the US DMCA, the WIPO Copyright and
Performances and Phonograms Treaties
Implementation Act has provisions that prevent
persons from "circumvent[ing] a technological
measure that effectively controls access to a work".
 Thus if a software manufacturer has some kind of
software, dongle or password access device installed
in the software any attempt to bypass such a copy
prevention scheme may be actionable — though the
US Copyright Office
Software patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights

granted by a state to an inventor or his
assignee for a fixed period of time in
exchange for a disclosure of an
invention.
Software patent

Software patent does not have a

universally accepted definition
 Patent on any performance of a computer
realised by means of a computer program
 Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure

 A software patent is a patent for a computer

program claimed as such, or an algorithms or
computer-implemented business method that
make no technical contribution
 European Patent Office
Indian position
 In India, the Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) of computer software is covered
under the Copyright Law. Accordingly,
the copyright of computer software is
protected under the provisions of Indian
Copyright Act 1957
1994 amendments
 the rights of a copyright holder
 position on rentals of software
 the rights of the user to make backup
copies
 and most importantly the amendments
imposed heavy punishment and fines
for infringement of copyright of
software.
Indian position
According to section 16 of this Act, it is
illegal to make or distribute copies of
copyrighted software without proper or
specific authorisation
Indian position
 The only exception is provided by section 52
of the Act, which allows a backup copy purely
as a temporary protection against loss,
distribution or damage to the original copy.
The 1994 amendment to the Copyright Act
also prohibits the sale or hiring, or any offer
for sale or hire of any copy of the computer
program without specific authorisation of the
Copyright holder.
Indian position
 A civil and criminal action may be instituted
for injunction, actual damages (including
infringer's profits) or statutory damages per
infringement etc.
 Section 63 B, stipulates a minimum jail term
of 7 days which can be extended up to 3
years. The Act further states the fine ranging
from Rs. 50,000 to 2,00,000.
NASSCOM(National Association of Software and
Services Companies ) on its part has launched
many initiatives to deter and discourage piracy .
 Removal of import duty on software
 Extensive Media campaign against piracy
 Software Management Seminars for EDP managers at metro
cities
 Strict implementation of Code of Conduct for member
companies of NASSCOM
 Awareness and training programs for police officers and law
enforcement authorities
 Distribution of brochures and stickers explaining about
"Software Piracy and the Law"
 Anti-Piracy Billboards, Hotline for piracy complaints