Company LOGO Software Piracy Software Piracy Software Pirate Gets 7 Years in Prison Cannelle Cuvelier

Software Piracy Issue 1. Main scenario and stakeholders 2. Social and/or ethical issues 3. Main problem with issue 4. Possible solution to problem

Main scenario A California man, Nathan Peterson, has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison and ordered to pay $5.4 million in restitution for selling pirated software online. Nathan Peterson 1.Pleaded guilty 2.Sold pirated software through his website. 3.Two charges of criminal copyright infringement.

Companies affected Nathan Peterson was copying and selling software from: Adobe Macromedia Symantec Autodesk As a result of his conviction, Peterson will also be forced to forfeit any property obtained as a result of the money made from the operation, including multiple cars, homes and a boat.

Companies affected Estimated losses to the software companies range from: $7million to $20 million

Buyers Peterson has said that most of the software was sold to: individual consumers some companies one school district

Copyright Infringement Technology Laws Markets Ethics

Ethical and Social Issues There are many things we cannot afford; not being able to afford a software is not an excuse for copying it. The size and success of a company do not justify taking from it. Programmers, writers and performing artists lose income when copying is common. Surely we have the liberty to make a copy for a friend, but is copying a software an act of generosity on our part or an act that compels involuntary generosity from the programmer? Even though large-scale commercial piracy is worse, individual copying is still not ethical. The number of people copying software does not determine if it is right or not.

Ethical and Social Issues People buy pirated software without realizing what they're doing Consumers are used to buying products, such a books and CDs that can be shared with friends and family. But if you buy Windows, it doesn't belong to you, it's Microsoft's. They're just letting you use it. There are many ways consumers can be fooled. Pricing that is far below the manufacturer's price can be a tip-off, but many people think they are getting a bargain, not a pirated program.

Social and Ethical Issues Industry Patent Law Copyright Laws Contract Law Intellectual property Software piracy

Social and Ethical Issues: Laws Patent Copyright Contract Protected mechanical inventions Protected literary expressions Protected trade secrets

Main problems with Issue Prison sentences like Nathan Peterson’s might not affect pirates, because there's so much money to be made and so little prosecution, but it could make consumers more aware. And if nobody's buying the stuff, pirates will be impacted by that. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III, is the longest ever handed down for software piracy. Officials have called iBackups.net one of the largest software piracy sites based out of the United States, according to news reports. Peterson had started selling the programs in 2003, and according to federal authorities, had made more than $5.4 million from the sales. The retail value of the software was close to $20 million, authorities noted.

Problems Software companies deal with extremely high losses due to software piracy. Pirates gain a lot of money from their software piracy. People are not aware that what they are doing is a crime.

Solutions Ensure that people who work in production, marketing, and management are paid for the time and effort they put in to create the intangible intellectual property we enjoy. Ensure the protection of entertainment industry, publishers and software companies’ investments expected, or hoped-for revenues. Apply existing laws, rules, and/or guidelines or develop new ones, to protect copyright owners, but also to protect fair use, reasonable public access, and the opportunity to use new technologies to the fullest to provide new services. Technical, managerial and legal solutions include technologies to prevent or deter copying, marketing and contractual changes that reduce the incentive to copy illegally, education about the reasons for copyright protection and enforcement and revision of copyright law.

Solutions EthicalLegalSocialMarket ProtectionApply lawsEducationDetection

Bibliography A gift of fire by Sara Baase Computer Confluence by G. Beekman and M. J. Quinn

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