On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 13:04:36 -0700, Tom C <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I don't totally agree with these arguments though I undertsand the point > your making. Bootlegged copies do represent lost potential sales and lost > potential income. Let's take this to another level. I walk up to a car > lot, find the keys in the ignition, and drive off with a brand new Jaguar. > Does that NOT represent a lost sale for the dealer just because I never > planned on buying it in the first place? Granted, I could not have > fabricated a like Jaguar by running it through a Car Duplicating Machine, > but you see the point.
Ah, but that "little caveat" is what makes the whole difference. If you take the Jaguar, the dealer has one less car to sell. If you duplicate it, maybe even your neighbor will like it, and will go out and buy a Jaguar for himself, thus benefiting the dealer. The point is, copying software is illegal. This is why it shouldn't be done, and we can forget about whether it is right or wrong. If we want to go into the details, you have to factor in all the kids with bootleg copies of Photoshop, Maya or whatever, who learn to master it, and become a workforce that knows how to use that software. The companies that hire them will actually buy the software legally. This phenomenon is good for the software companies, and I wouldn't underestimate its effect. > I have thought this (the arguments above) to some degree myself in the past. > It's an easy rationalization that one could make in order to justify use > without a purchase. "I never would have bought it, so I'm not doing > anything wrong". From the seller's standpoint, it's totally different. > The picture changes totally depending on whether you're the person > benefiting from the free use or whether you're the person/corporation being > deprived of income, losing sales, whatever you want to call it. Just to add my bias to the whole thing, I think corporations in general are at no risk of suffering much from our doings. If anything, we need to protect individuals from corporations, and not the other way around. In general, I think copyright law has gone out of control, and it is now something far beyond what it was intended to do. More thoughts: http://www.jbuhler.com/license.html j -- Juan Buhler http://www.jbuhler.com blog at http://www.jbuhler.com/blog
