Computer Software Piracy And Its Impact On The International Economy :: essays research papers fc

Computer Software Piracy and its Impact on the International Economy     The PC industry is over cardinal years old. In those twenty years,evolving packet technology brings us faster, more sophisticated, versatile andeasy-to-use products. Business package product allows companies to save time, effortand money. Educational computer programs teach basic skills and complicatedsubjects. star sign packet now includes a wide variety of programs that enhance theusers productivity and creativity. The industry is thriving and users stand tobenefit along with the publishers. The SPA (Software Publishers Association)reports that the problem of software theft has grown, and threatens to preventthe development of new software products. Unauthorized duplication of softwareis known as software piracy which is a "Federal iniquity that affects everyone("Software Use..." Internet). The following research examines software piracyin its various forms, its impact on the end user and the international industryas a whole, and the progress that has been made in alleviating the problem.     Software piracy harms all software companies and ultimately, the enduser. Piracy results in higher prices for honest users, reduced levels ofsupport and delays in funding and development of new products, causing theoverall breadth and quality of software to suffer ("What is... Internet). Eventhe users of unlawful copies suffer from their own illegal actions they hearno documentation, no customer support and no information about product updates("Software Use..." Internet).      The White Paper says that while virtually every software publisherexpresses concern about their software from unauthorized duplication, over time,many have simply accepted the so-called "fact" that such duplication isunavoidable. This has created an strain in which software piracy is commonlyaccepted as "just another cost o f doing business" ("With the Growth..."Internet).     In a brochure published by the SPA it is stated that a major problemarises from the fact that most people do not even know they are breaking the law."Because the software industry is relatively new, and because copying softwareis so easy, many people are either unaware of the laws governing software use or train to ignore them" ("To Copy or not to Copy" Internet).     Robert Perry states that much of the problem of software theft arisesfrom the way the software industry developed. In the past, when a software firmspent millions of dollars to write a program for a mainframe computer, it knewit would sell a handful of copies. It licensed each copy to protect itspossession rights and control the use of each copy. That is easy to do with onlya few copies of a program. It is impossible for a software company to handle