Case Analysis: Software Infringement
Stacey Kwong, [Link].392@[Link]
MKT 448
February 19, 2015
Problem:
Many software companies, such as Microsoft, are becoming victims to
software infringement, also known as piracy. People all around the world are
both knowingly and unknowingly downloading or obtaining illegal versions of
software that they want to use. As a result of this, those software companies
are losing money and fear that they will not have enough income to be able
to create new and innovative software in the future.
Relevant Facts:
Piracy takes place as a global event. China, India, and Vietnam are
countries that are infamous for producing infringing software. The United
States, Japan, and other countries in Europe are doing their best to protect
software companies by enforcing strict rules and regulations. Over 40% of
the software being sold around the world is an infringing copy. Judy Strauss
and Raymond Frost, authors of the book, E-Marketing, state that “Cutting
this number by even a third would create millions of jobs and generate
hundreds of billions of dollars in new economic growth around the world”
(102).
Do you think education is the answer for stopping copyright
infringements in other countries? Why or why not? If yes, what type
of education might work?
The answer to this question is a giant “it depends”. It depends on how
software companies implement this education and whether or not they do it
in an effective way. Piracy, whether it is software, movies, or even music, is
mainly done by the younger generation. They are the ones who know how to
download things illegally and torrent files using software created specifically
for that purpose. Companies like Microsoft would have to come up with some
elaborate way of making sure the younger generation will voluntarily want to
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learn about piracy. One type of education that might work is to create a
video and hope that it goes viral. If the software company has a really good
marketing department, they could possibly make it happen. The video would
have to highlight all the harm that piracy is doing to companies and maybe
even show what will happen if this continues.
If you were a famous recording artist, what would you do to protect
your income from piracy in the United States (illegal sharing and
downloading of your music)?
In 2007, Radiohead released one of its albums, “In Rainbows”, for free
on the internet. I remember this clearly because I had a friend at the time
who was a massive Radiohead fan. They released the album for free on their
website, but also had a “pay as you wish” digital tip jar. According to Rolling
Stones, the album managed to rake up a whopping $3M in sales. That is not
bad for something they were giving away for free. If I were a famous
recording artist, I would probably do the same thing. Piracy is going to
happen no matter what. There is no such thing as stopping it once and for
all. If it is going to happen, why not just go with the flow? I would allow my
fans to download it for free and just ask for an optional donation.
Another case of a company not trying to stop piracy was the show,
“Game of Thrones”. The makers found out that their show was the number
one downloaded item on torrent websites. Instead of crying about it and
trying to get it down, they were flattered that so many people wanted to
watch their show.
Is it better to regulate industries via laws or let industries self-
regulate? Support your claim.
It is better to do both. Industries cannot heavily rely on the
government on enforcing the laws. The government can set the laws, but the
industries themselves will have to make sure they are being followed. If in
fact the industry notices something fishy is going on (something like piracy),
then they can notify the government and have them take action.
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Which is more ethically problematic: attacking a former employer
via online discussion or making the same attack by e-mailing
current employees?
Ethically, I would say that attacking a current employee by email is
more problematic than attacking a former employer via online discussion. A
current employee is still tied to the company; so attacking them can harm
them a lot worse than an employee is no longer working there.
Conclusion and Recommendation:
As stated before, piracy and illegal downloads will still happen no
matter what companies try to do to prevent it. Laws will do almost nothing to
stop the younger generation. Most of them know that they will not get
caught unless they download a huge amount of illegal software. To stay
under the radar, they download as minimal as they can. The best thing you
can really do is to educate people in a way that they will learn and care
about the problem. Creating engaging advertisements, games, or even
holding events are several ways that the companies can reach out to them.
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Works Cited
Kreps, Daniel. "Radiohead Publishers Reveal "In Rainbows" Numbers." Rolling
Stone. 15 Oct. 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
<[Link] music/news/radiohead-publishers-
reveal-in-rainbows-numbers-20081015>.
Strauss, Judy, and Raymond Frost. E-marketing. Seventh ed. Print.
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