DevTopics » Piracy

Kiss Talks About Music Piracy

timm — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:09:44 +0000

The remaining original Kiss band members, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, discussed with USA Today their first new album in a decade. The album Sonic Boom, released yesterday exclusively at WalMart, is a three-disc set with a CD of re-recorded hits, a live DVD of a Buenos Aires concert, and 11 new songs. It’s only $12, “the price of a sandwich,” says Simmons.

The pair also talked about the current state of the music biz and piracy. “Anybody who says, ‘I’m only in it for the music’ will find himself washing cars and wondering where the money went,” said Paul Stanley. “Gene and I believe in working hard and making no apologies for what we get for the hard work.”

Touring and merchandise are necessary for the band to offset losses from music piracy. “You grab an album and leave a store, they put you in handcuffs,” said Stanley. “And yet someone on the Internet can decide whether or not I get paid. File-sharing, that’s like me stealing your car and telling you I’m sharing your transportation.”

Illicit downloading is one reason the band had resisted recording new material for a decade. Says a sneering Simmons: “These freckle-faced college kids have destroyed an entire industry by stealing. I don’t believe in socialism and, the last time I checked, what we do isn’t charity.”

We reap what we sow. If we continue to demand that our music, movies and software be free, and steal anything that is not free, eventually all that will remain is free crap and corporate-sponsored product. Is this really what we want?

Stupid Pirate Asks Software Maker for Crack Code

timm — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:49:16 +0000

Many people steal software because they are too stupid to know that it’s wrong, or too dumb to get a job so they can pay for what they are stealing.

Though many pirates will tell you how smart they are because they’re getting stuff for free while the rest of us have to pay. It does sound smart, I guess, if you can get beyond that whole moral “stealing is bad” thing and the threat of bad karma.

But the stupidest pirate of all is the one that asks the software maker to help them steal their own software. Dushyant was dim enough to join the CodeSmith forums on the CodeSmith website and ask, “can any one post me the serial key to trick the CodeSmith Professional 5.1.1.8242”.

The CodeSmith moderator answered straight at first: “You will need to contact sales for a key (sales@codesmithtools.com).”

But the stupid pirate asked again. So the CodeSmith people decided to play with this dolt and responded: “enter this as the key: CS50P-0NLY4-1D10T-W0ULD-TRYT0-45KU5-TH15Q” which loosely translates as “only an idiot would try to ask us this question.”

You think Dushyant would finally realize he’s been served, but staying true to form, he responded, “The key you provided does not work to as serial key to crack the version.”

Read the thread at CodeSmith.com
Stupid-Is-As-Stupid-Does

Apple iTunes Rewards its Honest Customers with a Big Fat Bill

timm — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:59:15 +0000

Most of my friends don’t pay for their music. Sure, they’ll buy and receive CDs for birthdays and Christmas. But when they hear a song on the radio that they like, they simply download it for free from one of the hundreds of peer-to-peer, torrent or pirate networks.

These friends enjoy access to the most comprehensive music catalog in the world that includes The Beatles and many obscure acts. They own tens of thousands of songs. They can play their music on any computer, stereo, automobile or portable device without worrying about copy protection or play limits. Their music is high-fidelity 256 kbps MP3s, a sound that’s fairly close to the original recordings. They own their music forever, with no expired subscriptions to worry about. And the best part is they didn’t have to pay a cent for this incredible restriction-free collection of music.

Then there’s me. No doubt I am the stupid one of the group for actually paying for my music. Every one of the 5,645 songs in my catalog was fully paid for, either by purchasing a physical CD or a digital download from Apple iTunes.

In return for my honesty, I’ve had to deal with restrictions on which PCs I could play my music, having to authorize and de-authorize PCs and songs in a constant shuffle. I’ve been locked to the iPod, unable to play my iTunes copy-protected music on the Microsoft Zune MP3 player I received for Christmas. I’ve put up with the slightly tinny and hollow sound of the copy-protected 128 kbps AAC-encoded digital iTunes. I had to purchase physical CDs because the Beatles hadn’t yet gone digital. I’ve had to go without some of the more interesting older blues songs that are out of print. And all this hassle has cost me about $5,000.

So you can imagine my joy when I heard that Apple iTunes is finally ditching its copy-protection scheme. Now all songs for sale on iTunes are “iTunes Plus” songs. This means that every song is available in high-fidelity 256 kbps format without digital rights management (DRM). There are no burn limits, and iTunes Plus music will play on all iPods, Mac or Windows computers and many other digital music players.

Not only is this a great thing for my future purchases, I also couldn’t wait to upgrade all my old digital songs and get out of DRM-jail. But then I saw this personalized message from iTunes:

After paying over $600 for my iTunes music, I now need to pay another $176.07 to “upgrade” my copy-protected low-fidelity songs to what my friends have been enjoying all these years for free. That’s right, Apple iTunes and the music industry are rewarding its best honest customers with a big fat “Screw You” bill.

I’m a believer that everyone should be paid for their honest work. If something has value, we should pay for it. Unlike many socialists, miscreants and criminals on the Web, I’ve always been a proponent for paying a reasonable fee for music, movies and software.

“Software, music and digital content take real effort to produce, and therefore have real value. In a civilized society and market economy, people trade goods and services for a reasonable fee in order to make a living. Society benefits because individuals can specialize, raising the value of each individual and the entire economy collectively, resulting in more innovation, personal wealth and chance for a better life for most people.”

But enough is enough. Apple iTunes and the record companies are punishing their customers for being loyal and honest. I find it really hard to swallow a $176 bill to free myself from the shackles that iTunes locked me into in the first place. Call me naive, but I believe a better solution would have been for iTunes to reward its loyal customers with free upgrades or even a 5-cent rebate to upgrade each song. They could call it the “I wish I had a nickel for every song I could’ve stolen” iTunes customer loyalty campaign.

People should not pirate music, but in this case, perhaps we are justified to steal the music for which we have already paid. Nahh, I’ll grumble but I’ll pay, and Apple knows it. The record companies need as much revenue from honest citizens as they can get, especially at a time when so many others get their music for free.

No, Silly, Piracy is Theft

timm — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:55:52 +0000

There’s an image making its rounds on the Web that says “Piracy is Not Theft” because it makes a copy and leaves the original intact:

The diagram itself is correct. Piracy simply makes a copy of the song/video/software. The original remains intact, and the owner doesn’t lose a copy when someone pirates it.

This is because stealing a digital work is not like stealing a tangible item. Pirating a digital video off BitTorrent is not the same as shoplifting a DVD from BestBuy. As the diagram above shows, when you shoplift a DVD from BestBuy, you are removing the original, which BestBuy can no longer sell and therefore loses money. When you pirate the same movie from BitTorrent, the studio that released the movie does not lose a copy, and can continue to sell the movie to others.

But BestBuy and the movie studios are not in business to sell things. They’re in business to make money. (Gasp! Making money? Those capitalist pigs!)

A much better analogy for digital piracy is sneaking into a theater to watch a movie. You are not stealing a copy of that movie, and the theater is free to show the movie to others. But you are stealing revenue that the theater would have earned had you rightfully purchased a ticket.

So when you pirate music, video or software, you are stealing income from the seller. You are receiving something of value without paying for it. Here is another take on the diagram:

So if someone is a pirate, they are also a thief. It doesn’t make them a bad person, but they are still stealing from someone else.

Let the flames begin.

How Your Color Printer and Little Yellow Dots May Ruin Your Privacy

timm — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:36:15 +0000

In the “old days” of typewriters, forensic scientists could match a ransom note to the typewriter that produced it to apprehend the kidnappers. This was possible because microscopic differences in the metal letters produced a “typographical fingerprint” that could be identified from any page printed on that typewriter.

As a result, it became fashionable to produce ransom notes with disparate letters cut from a magazine, such as:

Today, computer printers are highly precise instruments that make it nearly impossible to distinguish between pages printed on the same brand printer. However, an article in USA Today describes how many color laser printers leave microscopic yellow dots on each printed page to identify the printer’s serial number and ultimately, you.

Apparently the technology has been used for years, but the decreasing price and increasing popularity of color laser printers is renewing privacy concerns. The dots are invisible to the naked eye but can be seen using a blue LED light. The dots are produced only on color laser printers and not ink-jet printers, which most consumers use. The dots indicate the printer’s serial number and the time and date a page was printed. With typewriters, authorities required access to the typewriter to perform a match. With the dots, however, authorities can determine the printer’s serial number from any printed page and can contact the printer’s manufacturer to locate the owner.

The Secret Service uses these dots to identify counterfeiters using color laser printers to produce fake money. But privacy advocates worry that authorities could use the dots to arrest political dissidents, whistle-blowers or anyone who wishes to remain anonymous.

“There’s nothing about this technology that limits its application to counterfeit investigations,” says Seth Schoen from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Some people who aren’t doing anything wrong may have their privacy threatened.” Schoen’s tests have found the dots on 111 color laser printers made by 13 companies including Xerox, Canon, HP, Epson and Brother.

Lorelei Pagano, director of the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group, claims the U.S. Secret Service is the only agency that has the ability to decode the information. Agency spokesman Ed Donovan says the Secret Service uses the dots only to investigate counterfeiting. Can we trust this promise from a government that admits to spying on its citizens without a court order?

Software Piracy Mixed Bag

timm — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:57:00 +0000

Although PC software piracy declined in many countries in 2007, piracy increased in fast-growing PC markets, resulting in an overall rise of piracy from 35% to 38%, and dollar losses that increased by $8 billion to nearly $48 billion. The annual study was conducted by IDC and released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

“We are making much-needed progress in the battle against PC software piracy, and that’s good news for governments, end users, businesses, and the industry,” said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman. “The battleground is now shifting, however, to emerging markets where many of our collective challenges remain.”

Software piracy has a negative effect on more than just the software industry. It also harms local resellers and services firms, lowers government tax revenues, and increases the risk of cyber crime and security problems. A recent IDC study found that reducing software piracy by ten percentage points over four years would deliver billions in economic growth and generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

The Numbers

The three lowest-piracy countries were the United States (20%), Luxembourg (21%), and New Zealand (22%). The three highest-piracy countries were Armenia (93%), Bangladesh (92%), and Azerbaijan (92%). Piracy rates dropped slightly in many low-piracy markets which have had stagnant rates for years, including the United States (-1%) and United Kingdom (-1%).

Russia showed the best improvement with a one-year drop of seven points to 73%, and a five-year drop of 14 points. Russia’s piracy rate is still high but decreasing quickly as a result of legalization programs, government engagement and enforcement, user education, and an improved economy.

Piracy Factors

According to the BSA, the following market factors increase piracy rates:

Fast growth in the consumer and small business sectors, which are the hardest sectors to lower piracy
Expanded Internet and broadband access, especially in emerging markets, makes it easier to pirate and share software

The following market factors decrease piracy rates:

Increasing globalization, especially in emerging markets
Anti-piracy technologies such as digital rights management (DRM)
New software distribution models such as software-as-a-service (SAAS)

Blueprint to Reduce Piracy

The BSA has developed a five-point “blueprint” to reduce software piracy:

Increase public education and awareness of the value of intellectual property and the risks of using unlicensed software.
Update national copyright laws to implement World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) obligations in order to enable better and more effective enforcement against digital and online piracy.
Create strong enforcement mechanisms as required by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), including tough anti-piracy laws.
Dedicate significant government resources to the problem, including national IP enforcement units, cross-border cooperation, and training for local officers and judiciary officials.
Lead by example by implementing software management policies and requiring the public sector to use only legitimate software.

One-Third of PC Software is Pirated

timm — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 16:49:31 +0000

About one-third of all software installed on personal computers globally in 2006 was pirated, according to a study from IDC. This resulted in a worldwide software revenue loss of $40 billion, an increase of more than $5 billion or 15% over 2005. The software piracy rate exceeded 60% in more than half of the 102 countries studied, and exceeded 75% in about one-third of the countries.

Some Good News

The good news is there was improvement in some countries with notoriously bad piracy rates, most notably China, where software piracy dropped 10% in three years to 82%, and in Russia, where piracy fell 7% in three years to 80%. Of the 102 countries studied, piracy rates dropped moderately in 62 countries, but increased in 13 countries. The reduction was primarily the result of government efforts to reduce piracy both within its own organizations as well in the general populace, formal arrangements with software vendors to use legitimate software, and increasing education and enforcement efforts.

“We are making progress, however, we still have a lot of work to do to reduce unacceptable levels of piracy,” said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman. ”These significant losses translate into negative impacts on IT industry employment, revenues, and financial resources available for future innovation and the development of new technologies.”

Big Losses

But even lower piracy rates can add up to huge losses, the study showed. For example, while the U.S. had the lowest piracy rate (21%) of all countries studied, it also had the highest total loss at $7.3 billion. China had the second highest loss at $5.4 billion, followed by France at $2.7 billion.

IDC predicts $350 billion of PC software will be sold over the next four years. If current software piracy trends continue, then $180 billion worth of PC software will also be stolen.

Excuses, Excuses

Why do normally law-abiding citizens, who wouldn’t even think about shoplifting a CD from a record store, have no trouble stealing thousands of dollars of software? Typical excuses for software piracy include:

All software should be free.
Software is intangible.
Software is too expensive.
Software is too buggy to deserve payment.
The software license agreement is too confusing.
Software piracy is not a problem.
Software piracy is a victimless crime.
Software piracy is illegal??
Bill Gates and Microsoft are rich enough.
I’m just one person versus a large multinational corporation.
I don’t have the money.
I plan to use the software only a few times.
I wouldn’t buy it anyway.
Because I can.

Can you imagine walking into a Lexus dealer, driving off with a new $60,000 LS without paying, then telling the cops, “I didn’t have the money,” or “It was too expensive to buy.” Of course not, and yet people do it with software everyday.

Crime Doesn’t Pay

Pirated software may be free, but there are significant financial and legal penalties for software piracy. Illegally using or distributing software can result in felony charges with prison terms up to five years and fines up to US$250,000. In civil litigation, software pirates may be liable for the higher of: lost profits for the software vendor, ill-gotten gains by the software pirate, or statutory damages of up to US$150,000 per product infringed plus attorney fees.

The cost of using pirated software isn’t just financial. Software pirates tend to lose out on many benefits enjoyed by customers who legally pay for the software they use:

No customer support, upgrades and bug fixes
No warranty protection
Pirated software can contain viruses or spyware
Pirated software may be outdated or beta versions
Pirated software may not be fully “cracked” and can still contain some anti-piracy measures that may cripple the software or damage your data

Fight Software Piracy

The use of pirated software also drives up the costs for legitimate users. Somebody is going to pay the price, so if it’s not the pirates, then it will be you. This gives legitimate users all the more reason to help fight software piracy by reporting companies that are not “playing by the rules.”

I’ve heard some software entrepreneurs say that pirates wouldn’t buy their software anyway, therefore the true cost of piracy is negligible. But other vendors have reported sales drops of 30-50% literally overnight when a pirated version of their software appears online.

In a future article I will discuss some of the more popular counter-measures used by software entrepreneurs to help reduce losses from software piracy.