Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!amdcad!sun!pepper!cmcmanis
From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: About Software Piracy!
Message-ID: <38347@sun.uucp>
Date: 8 Jan 88 23:31:40 GMT
References: <1962@houxa.UUCP> <2615@fluke.COM>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Distribution: na
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 37

In article <2615@fluke.COM> kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt Guntheroth) writes:
>AACCKK!  What am I saying?  State regulation of computation?  Big Brother
>watching my private use of data?  Herasy!  But it might happen, and it would
>be effective.  Consider this a prediction of the future, say 20 years from now.

Well, I thought of something that might help cut down some of the pirating
stuff, but I am not sure it is feasible. It seems to me that pirate copies
of software propogate in two ways, though pirate clubs, and on pirate bbs'.
Now, it is well known that these two are related as well. My idea is that
if we can shut down the pirate BBSes then we will have made a good step
toward reducing the problem. What we need is incentive and a neighborhood
watch program. It works like this ...

The government offers a reward of $2000 for information leading to the 
arrest and conviction of a software pirate. There is a confidential hotline
one could call if they had discovered or knew of a pirate bbs. The 
authorities log in, (and this is the hard part), determine if gross pirating
is going on. This could be done either by signing up as an interested user
or by monitoring the phone line. If they determine that the board is indeed
a pirate bbs, they charge the miscreant slime with using the phone system
to run an illegal business or something. Grand Larceny also comes to mind
since they total software pirated may be over $5000. They convict the
kid, and *as a minimum* confiscate all of the computer equipment used.
And optionally, fine him. In addition, they leave the parents liable for
damages from the software companies! 

Before you implement this law/activity you have a 6 month campaign of 
ad's telling people a) it is illegal to give copies of commercial
software to anyone without permission of the author, and b) Tell 
the parents that if their kid is found to be running a BBS with their
computer that *they* will be held liable so watch out. Then do it.



--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.