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Five Myths About Software Copy Protection
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- Software piracy is a victimless crime.
- Software copy protection makes software more expensive.
- Software copy protection gets in the way of the
legitimate user.
- Inexpensive software is not copied.
- Any protection system can be cracked. Therefore,
protection is useless.
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1. Software piracy is a victimless
crime.
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Nothing could be further from the truth! According to industry statistics, illegal
software use costs developers worldwide nearly $48 billion a year in lost revenues,
with more than $9 billion lost in the North America alone. In Central and Eastern
Europe, an average of 68% of the software in use is illegal. In some Asian and Eastern
European markets, over 88% of software is unlicensed.
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2. Software copy protection makes
software more expensive.
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On the contrary: the price of software copy protection is negligible compared to
the losses incurred by developers through the pirating of their software. In fact,
by protecting their software and thereby increasing their revenues, developers can
afford to supply better software at competitive prices. True, not everyone who copies
software today would buy it tomorrow if it were protected, and protection may put
off a few potential customers. However, there is no doubt that in the vast majority
of cases the investment in protection pays off handsomely in increased sales and
profit.
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3. Software copy protection gets
in the way of the legitimate user.
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The new, more sophisticated types of software copy protection - of which HASP is
the leading example - not only don't get in the way of legitimate end-users, they
actually benefit them. Protection safeguards the integrity of the software. The
end-user is thus assured that the software cannot be tampered with in any way. Plus,
higher revenues for developers mean that down the line, users will benefit from
better, high-quality software. Large organizations that are legally liable for the
software they purchase, have a clear interest in preventing the unauthorized distribution
of their software. Often, the users themselves request that the software be protected,
to ensure that it won't be used illegally - thus causing the organization harm.
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4. Inexpensive software is not copied.
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Some people attack the concept of software protection by arguing: "Make software
cheaper, that's all. People don't copy inexpensive software, and you'll sell more
copies of your product". But things are not so simple. Developing a software product
requires a huge investment of time and money and this work never ends. To succeed
in tomorrow's market, developers must invest today. The argument that people don't
copy inexpensive software is obviously false. Check a few PCs around you and you'll
probably find that most copied programs are actually the cheaper ones.
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5. Any protection system can be cracked.
Therefore, software copy protection is useless.
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Only the first part of this myth is true: any software protection system can be
cracked, just as any lock can be picked or any door can be broken. However, the
aim of software copy protection is to provide protection for a reasonable period
of time. Software cannot be protected forever, but it can definitely be protected
long enough - i.e., until a new version of the product is released. This new version
should be protected again, with a protection system that was also improved in parallel,
thus assuring a long and profitable sales life for the protected application.
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