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Author: Derek Miller
In
1993 worldwide illegal copying of domestic and
international software cost $12.5 billion to the
software industry, with a loss of $2.2 billion in the
United States alone. Estimates show that over 40 percent
of U.S.
software company revenues are generated overseas,
yet nearly 85 percent of the software industry's piracy
losses occurred outside of the United States borders.
The Software Publishers Association indicated that
approximately 35 percent of the business software in the
United States was obtained illegally, which 30 percent
of the piracy occurs in corporate settings.
In a corporate setting or business, every computer must
have its own set of original software and the
appropriate number of manuals. It is illegal for a
corporation or business to purchase a single set of
original software and then load that software onto more
than one computer, or lend, copy or distribute software
for any reason without the prior written consent of the
software manufacturer. Many software managers are
concerned with the legal compliance, along with asset
management and costs at their organizations. Many firms
involve their legal departments and human resources in
regards to software distribution and licensing.
Information can qualify to be property in two ways,
patent law and copyright laws which are creations of
federal statutes, pursuant to Constitutional grant of
legislative authority. In order for the government to
prosecute the unauthorized copying of computerized
information as theft, it must first rely on other
theories of information-as-property. Trade secret laws
are created by state law, and most jurisdictions have
laws that criminalize the violations of a trade-secret
holder's rights in the secret. The definition of a trade
secret varies somewhat from state to state, but commonly
have the same elements. In 1964 the United States
Copyright Office began to register software as a form of
literary expression.
The United States Code was passed covering software
piracy was passed by Congress in 1992. This amendment,
known as Public Law 102-561 made software piracy a
federal offense, and instituted criminal penalties for
copyright infringement of software. The penalties can
include imprisonment of up to five years, fines up to
$250,000 or both for unauthorized reproduction or
distribution of 10 or more copies of software with a
total retail value exceeding $2,500 or more. Under
United States law duplicating software for profit,
making multiple copies for use by different users within
an organization, and giving an unauthorized copy to
someone else is prohibited. Under this law if anyone is
caught with the pirated software, an individual or the
individual's company can be tried under both civil and
criminal law. A Civil action may be established for
injunction, actual damages (which includes the
infringer’s profits) or statutory damages up to $100,000
per infringement.
The resultant laws show now why software licensing is
not as clear cut as it once was.
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