From: bill@bilver.uucp (Bill Vermillion)
Subject: Re: Help : Copy protection
Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 04:14:53 GMT

In article <16874@ksr.com> dean@ksr.com (Dean Anderson) writes:

>In article <Bw1JxK.2p4@ansoft.com> elliot@ansoft.com (mike elliot) writes:

>>True. A good criminal can get through the deadbolt on my door too, but
>>I still lock it. It is just plain foolishness to leave your door wide
>>open.

>Sorry the analogies don't mix.  Deadbolts and car alarms, etc
>keep out (or slow down) the amatuer theives.  If your house is broken 
>into or your car stolen, you lose real assets.  If an amatuer pirate 
>distributes a few free copies to his friends, you may lose potential sales.  
>In fact, you may gain sales as a result, when the friends decide they 
>like the software and want the latest version or the manuals or need 
>support.  You most likely don't lose anything because the friends 
>probably wouldn't have purchased for your software anyway.  

>The professional pirate sells your software (say in taiwan, korea, europe
>etc).  These are the people who really hurt sales. They resell the software 
>and take sales you should have made, for only the cost of advertising. 
>They are not going to be stopped by copyprotection schemes.  Spend your 
>time finding and prosecuting these folks.

Hm - what differentiates the amateur pirate from the professional.

Is it that one gives away the software and the other sells it.

I have been called into 4 systems that another person sold/installed.
And I have seen the invoice on a 5th system from that same person.

Everyone of those systems has pirated software.   These were all sold
as turnkey system - all Xenix.    The reason this person was able to
beat any legitimated dealers price is that some or all of the software
on the system was pirated.

On one of the systems when the SCO Xenix intro screens came up, the
area that normally displays the serial number was blank.   Another
system had manuals but no masters, another master with no manuals.

On the one I saw the invoice on - I would guess the person made $500 on
the hardware - and there was about $4000 worth of pirated software.

There is another system that I took over maintenance on about 8 months
ago.   Yet another person was involved in the 'cheap at any price'
system.

They paid $900 for an accounting system.  They didn't get any disks
with it, but got manuals.  I looked at the manuals and they were marked
'demonstration - not for sale'.

I told the client that I would see what would have to be done to make
him 'legitimate' so he could get support.  He said he surely didn't
want to have to pay another $900.   I said I'd see.

I called the company.  They had seen this before.  They have a policy
of applying the amount the customer paid for the bootleg copy against
the selling price.   That seems fair to me - they could just say - if
he wants a real copy, he'll have to pay list.

Well, it would cost this customer $2600 to become legit.  The 'pirate'
sold them a 'free demo' for $900 on software that lists (for the
modules they had) at $3500.

Who loses.  Everyone involved except the pirate.  The businesses lose
because the day they crash they are hosed, until they buy new software.
(One of these 'pirates' is no longer around).

The software companies lose a sale.  The local dealers &/or consultants
lose sales and credibility.  And the users view those who sell/support
systems and something about 5 steps lower than the guy who sells used
cars on the corner lot with the hand-painted sign.

-- 
Bill Vermillion - bill@bilver.oau.org  bill.vermillion@oau.org
                - bill@bilver.uucp 
                - ..!{peora|ge-dab|tous|tarpit}!bilver!bill

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