We’ve all heard the term software piracy. But how much do you really know about it? The “unauthorized” duplication of software is considered software piracy. Most of the general public is aware that the unofficial duplication and usage of software is considered illegal, a good number of people simply ignore that fact.
Software is considered to be a valuable intellectual property and should be treated as such. The Business Software Alliance and the Annual Global Software Piracy Study recently release numbers that state that the loss in revenue due to piracy went above $50 billion.
There are many different types of software piracy:
–Upload/download. This is a common for of piracy where users make illegal copies of software available to others via online services.
–Counterfeiting. This is the process where software is duplicated and sold in forms that make it appear they are true, legal copies.
–Unbundling. This is where a vendor sells software that was intended to accompany a specific hardware system.
–Soft-lifting. This is were a user purchase a single legal copy of a software program, but then installs the same copy onto several computers.
–Hard-disk loading is where unauthorized software is loaded onto hard disks. A common scenario is a hardware dealer will load this software onto computers to entice buyers.
–Renting. This is much like video rentals, except that it is unauthorized software.
Many of us believe that piracy has no victims; however this is patently untrue. As stated above the cost of software piracy is more than $50 billion in revenues due to developers. Another myth is that the copy protection placed on some software makes it more expensive. These costs are minimal when compared to the losses. When developers do not lose money to piracy they can then afford to produce better software at more competitive pricing.
