Software Piracy - NZListener 13-8-90

Author: Chris Barton
NZ Listener, August 13 1990.

The copy command for IBM PCs and compatibles is seductively simple.
You type: copy *.* a: You say: copy space star-dot-star space ay colon.
People think the gibberish you're muttering indicates brain damage from too
much exposure to low-level radiation from your computer screen. Wrong. Your
computerspeak command to your PC simply translates to: copy a whole bunch of
files onto the magnetic disk I've just placed in the disk drive named "a".

This language is based on the principle of "your wish is my command", but get
the command right. Its minimalist approach to communication demands precision
and has no time for nuance, ambiguity or shades of meaning. Spell incorrectly
or get a colon or a space out of place and the PC will come back with a curt
error message like "Bad command or file name" and then sit steadfastly silent,
oblivious to your curses, until you try again.

The computer is also amoral. It's language has no words to warn you about the
consequences of your actions. For example, it doesn't think of telling you that
when you use the commands like copy *.* or diskcopy a: b: (diskcopy space ay
colon space bee colon) that you could be committing theft. Or that, depending on
whether they prosecute you under the Crimes Act or the Copyright Act, you could
be facing imprisonment for up to 10 years, fines or a civil action for
substantial damages. The PC is indifferent to the fact that in Australia fines
up to $250,000 have been imposed.

No one has been successfully prosecuted for illegally copying software in New
Zealand yet. But if we believe what the software vendors tell us, the country
is riddled with software thieves. They say up to 50 percent of all business
software products such as wordprocessors and spreadsheets in use in New Zealand
are illegal or "pirated" copies. And the recently formed New Zealand Business
Software Association (NZBSA) - an alliance of software vendors - claims in the
coming year "an estimated $80 million revenue will be forfeited by the New
Zealand information industry alone as a result of widespread unauthorised
copying and related illegal practices".

So, if software piracy is rampant, why hasn't anyone been prosecuted? Well, it
could be because software copyright has never been fully tested in New Zealand
courts, although a judgment by Justice Smellie in favour of IBM in a copyright
case against Computer Imports in March 1989 went some way towards setting a
precedent. The problem is the New Zealand Copyright Act came into existence in
1962 when the computer industry was still in its infancy and contains no
explicit references to computer software. This means any case will have to argue
whether or not software constitutes a "literary work" as defined in the act and
whether, in its machine-coded form, it is a "translation" or "adaptation" of
the literary work. New Zealand legal minds are no doubt itching to sort this
out.

There are also cases of copying to other magnetic media such as video or audio
cassette tape where copyright has been infringed and where prosecutions have
been successful. But perhaps the real reason for little action being taken is
that the copying of software in endemic and so easy to do.

Software is an expensive item in any computer purchase - around $1000 each for
well-known brands of database, wordprocessor or spreadsheet - and the ease with
which you can copy these on to blank disks costing around $5 is very tempting,
even if you don't get the software manual and the benefit of software upgrades.
Some argue software vendors should look to a technological solution like the
special chip included in the new digital audio tape (DAT) recorders being sold
in the US which prevent making tape copies from compact disc players.

But it's really a case of trying to shut the stable door after the horse has
bolted. Although copy protection techniques have been used in some software,
they've never been very successful and tend to cause problems in everyday use.
And the vast quantity of existing pirated software makes the task even more
difficult. Which is why the NZBSA is adopting an educate rather than prosecute
approach. The main targets are educational institutions and large businesses
where software is "shared" among the students or employees. And from time to
time these sorts of institutions undergo a major purge of pirated software as
was seen recently at Auckland Technical Institute.

The NZBSA is also about to publish its "Software Compliance Manual for Decision
Makers" which gives guidelines on the whole issue of copying software and its
prevention.

While no one expects the NZBSA to start breaking down doors and seizing personal
computers, it's clear a prosecution test case would show they mean business. In
the meantime expect to see warning notices appear around your place of work. The
NZBSA example reads:

WARNING
Making unauthorised copies of software is a criminal act and can
expose you to instant dismissal, substantial fines, claims for
civil damages and even a jail term. Don't jeopardise your career.
Use only original software.