Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!mailrus!ncar!boulder!tcr!dcpc!dc
From: dc@dcpc.UUCP (Don Curtis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Software Sales Strategies vs. Piracy
Message-ID: <0324.AA0324@dcpc>
Date: 23 Aug 89 04:42:37 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga
Organization: CompuServe/TransAmi
Lines: 65


In  <122978@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> Chuck McManis says:

>Well gee, why not cut distributors and dealers out of the loop completely ? 
>Only sell direct, then you have the name, address, and phone number of 
>everyone that bought your program. You can immediately identify pirates,
>and if someone says they bought it from someone else, then you can call
>up that person and verify it right? Absolute and total control of your
>user base. Don't expect very high volumes though...

>Just another end of the spectrum of choices,

	That wouldn't help in any case, either would serializing disks, 
	enforcing registration at point of sale, keeping lists of what
	distributors got which disks, etc.

	   In order to prosecute someone for theft, you have to prove
	   that Joe Average User, who is the registered owner of disk
	   #12345 made, or permitted to be made a copy of his disk.
	   Simply proving that an illegal copy had serial #12345 does
	   not prove that Joe Average User made the copy.

	   Any of the following could have occured, all of which would
	   leave Joe off the hook:

	   1. Joe could have sold the software to Billy Bluebeard and
	      Billy caused the illegal distribution.  Under most 
		  current software license agreements, it's perfectly legal
		  for Joe to have sold the software to Billy.

	   2. Unknown to Joe, a friend (Bobby Bandit) may have made a
	      copy of Joe's disk while visiting.  Bobby then posted
		  the software on a thieves BBS.

	   3. The dealer/distributor or an employee of the publisher
	      may have made an illegal copy before Joe ever got the
		  software.

	   4. Ben BadGuy may have found the location of the serial
	      number in another copy of the software and changed it
		  (and any code that checked it) to 12345 and then
		  distributed that changed copy.

	   5. Etc...any other set of similar circumstances where
	      Joe had nothing to do with the illegal distribution
		  of the software.

	The only way to prosecute Joe would be to catch him in the
	act of illegaly distributing the software.  If he had a BBS
	with the software posted, fine.  If you could prove he posted
	the software to a BBS, fine.  If you obtained a copy of the
	software from him, fine.  But simply finding an illegal copy
	with serial #12345 is insufficient.






--
/*
**	 		Don Curtis   ....boulder!tcr!dcpc!dc
**			                 CompuServe 76703,4321 
**                           76703.4321@compuserve.com
*/