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From: slerner@sesame.UUCP (Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: Re: software protection - dongles & economics
Message-ID: <211@sesame.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Jul-85 00:23:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: sesame.211
Posted: Tue Jul 23 00:23:58 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Jul-85 04:10:55 EDT
References: <1677@ecsvax.UUCP> <679@homxb.UUCP>
Organization: Lotus Development Corp
Lines: 32

> 
> The notion that stopping software piracy would lead to lower
> prices is absurd. The existence of piracy puts pressure on prices.
> Low software prices reduce the incentive for piracy.
>

I am sorry, but the facts don't agree.  Future Computing did
an extensive investigation of the pracy problem and found:

In a survey of software usage in business, 50% of all software
used on a regular basis was pirated. (This figure is actualy 
optimistic, the raw data was much worse).  This 50% figure
DID NOT VARY by price (PFS:xxx is being ripped off as often
as 1-2-3), by software catagory, or by disk protection being
used. (by did not vary, I mean variation was <<5%)

So: as to the statements that overpricing encourages theft of 
software, or that this theft is actualy good for the vendors (!!)
and all other wishful thinking, I am sorry, but the facts do not
back you up.


-- 
Opinions expressed are public domain, and do not belong to Lotus
Development Corp.
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Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner

              {genrad|ihnp4|ima}!wjh12!talcott!sesame!slerner
                      {cbosgd|harvard}!talcott!sesame!slerner
                                slerner%sesame@harvard.ARPA