Software Piracy

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the issue of software piracy and its promethean aspects. It examines the history of software piracy and looks at how widespread the problem has grown. The paper then evaluates the arguments both for and against software piracy, paying special attention to their techniques for dealing with the problem. Finally, the paper proposes common ground solutions where those on both sides of the issue can compromise.

From the Paper:

"Sara Baase likens computers to the Prometheus' gift of fire, full of both promise and peril (Baase 1996). Perhaps no issue illustrates this point more than the current debate over software piracy. Advocates for copyright protection see the widespread piracy as a bane for the development of new computer technology. The other camp views piracy as a victimless crime, one that allows the poor and disenfranchised access to prohibitively-priced technology.

According to the American Software Publishers Association, software piracy is the unauthorized duplication of computer software (Traphagan and Griffith, 1998). This duplication can be done with ease on any computer with no special equipment necessary, in the privacy of one's home. These factors combine to make the duplication of computer software virtually impossible to regulate."

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