and has put them in the same (highly uncomfortable) position that software
vendors have been in for years: They have absolutely no control over what
happens to their precious assets.The Social Aspect
It is interesting to observe the social reactions to this new reality with regard to
copyrights and intellectual property. I’ve met dozens of otherwise law-abiding
citizens who weren’t even awareof the fact that burning a copy of a commer-
cial music recording or a software product is illegal. I’ve also seen people in
strong debate on whether it’s right to charge money for intellectual property
such as music, software, or books.
I find that very interesting. To my mind, this question has only surfaced
because technological advances have made it is so easy to duplicate most
forms of intellectual property. Undoubtedly, if groceries were as easy to steal
as intellectual property people would start justifying that as well.
The truth of the matter is that technological approaches are unlikely to ever
offer perfect solutions to these problems. Also, some technological solutions
create significant disadvantages to end users, because they empower copy-
right owners and leave legitimate end users completely powerless. It is possi-
ble that the problem could be (at least partially) solved at the social level. This
could be done by educating the public on the value and importance of creativ-
ity, and convincing the public that artists and other copyright owners deserve
to be rewarded for their work. You really have to wonder—what’s to become
of the music and film industry in 20 years if piracy just keeps growing and
spreading unchecked? Who’s problem would thatbe, the copyright owner’s,
or everyone’s?Software Piracy
In a study on global software piracy conducted by the highly reputable market
research firm IDC on July, 2004 it was estimated that over $30 billion worth of
software was illegally installed worldwide during the year 2003 (see the BSA
and IDC Global Software Piracy Studyby the Business Software Alliance and IDC
[BSA1]). This means that 36 percent of the total software products installed dur-
ing that period were obtained illegally. In another study, IDC estimated that
“lowering piracy by 10 percentage points over four years would add more than
1 million new jobs and $400 billion in economic growth worldwide.”
Keep in mind that this information comes from studies commissioned by
the Business Software Alliance (BSA)—a nonprofit organization whose aim is
to combat software piracy. BSA is funded partially by the U.S. government, but
primarily by the world’s software giants including Adobe, Apple, IBM,310 Chapter 9