Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!mordor!sri-spam!ames!aurora!labrea!agate!ucbvax!hplabs!hplabsz!taylor
From: farren@gethen.UUCP (Michael J. Farren)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: "Soap software" - One scenario for the Software market
Message-ID: <1533@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: 2 Feb 88 09:14:46 GMT
Sender: taylor@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM
Lines: 17
Approved: taylor@hplabs

Sheizaf Rafaeli mentioned, in a longer article:

>    - Honest microcomputer software users are rare.

One of the biggest problems I have with the current 'debate' on copy
protection which is raging throughout the microcomputer groups is,
simply, that people are vehemently defending positions that they have
taken with, it seems to me, no actual evidence at all to support those
positions.  I, at least, have never seen a study which showed the actual
impact of software theft on manufacturer's revenue.

Is your study one such?  If so, could you consider sending either a
pointer to it, once it is published, or posting the study itself, if
it's not too large?  What is crucially needed in these discussions is
data.  No one can take a truly effective position on copy protection (or
any other controversy, for that matter) without data to support it.

Michael J. Farren