bbs.attkcat@spies.com (the attack cat) (06/05/91)
A friend of mine wants to 'turn in' her employer for software piracy. Some of the copied programs are WordPerfect, Pagemaker, and Harvard Graphics. This is a small division of a fortune-100 company (which has a published non-piracy policy that this division is breaking). There's probably half-a-dozen computers involved. Is it worth it ? How do she do it ?
cjkuo@locus.com (Chengi Jimmy Kuo) (06/05/91)
bbs.attkcat@spies.com (the attack cat) writes: >A friend of mine wants to 'turn in' her employer for software piracy. >Some of the copied programs are WordPerfect, Pagemaker, and Harvard >Graphics. >This is a small division of a fortune-100 company (which has a published >non-piracy policy that this division is breaking). There's probably >half-a-dozen computers involved. >Is it worth it ? How do she do it ? This reminds me of what I think is the most ironic situation concerning copyright law. Since copyright is a federal legal concept, a company in CA cannot sue the state of CA for copyright infringement because that goes to state court! (This is where the status of law stands today as backed up by precedent.) So, the state school system (UCLA, etc.) is immune from copyright law with respect to copying programs produced by Californian companies. As for the original post, all she can do is contact the companies involved. There's no such thing as copyright police. Jimmy Kuo -- cjkuo@locus.com "The correct answer to an either/or question is both!"
larry@st-andy.uucp (Larry Martell) (06/05/91)
In article <1991Jun05.060505.115653@locus.com> cjkuo@locus.com (Chengi Jimmy Kuo) writes: >bbs.attkcat@spies.com (the attack cat) writes: > >>A friend of mine wants to 'turn in' her employer for software piracy. > >>Some of the copied programs are WordPerfect, Pagemaker, and Harvard >>Graphics. > >>This is a small division of a fortune-100 company (which has a published >>non-piracy policy that this division is breaking). There's probably >>half-a-dozen computers involved. > >>Is it worth it ? How do she do it ? [ stuff deleted ] >As for the original post, all she can do is contact the companies involved. >There's no such thing as copyright police. Ah, but there is. They're called the Software Publishers Association (SPA). They investigate accusations of this type. -- Larry Martell "Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one, 212-668-9478 but nobody wants to look at the other guys" uunet!st-andy!larry
sharp@mizar.usc.edu (Malcolm Sharp) (06/05/91)
There ARE copyright police - in the form of the SPA (Software Publisher's Association) who would love to hear from your friend. They have a toll-free number: 800-388-PIR8. You may want to get the last edition of the Chronicle of Higher Ed. - there's a piece about the U. of Oregon getting caught violating software copyright laws - think it was in the Continuing Ed. Center. -- Malcolm Sharp Coordinator, Instructional/Technical Support University of Southern California School of Public Administration
dprrhb@inetg1.ARCO.COM (Reginald H. Beardsley) (06/05/91)
A minor comment on corporate reality. It would be much better to collect a clipping or two about the fines imposed after a raid by the software police (I forget who they are, but they do exist) and forward that to the division manager along with clear evidence of the violations. If they are not stupid, they will be grateful that they were told in time to fix things. Causing a big stink by going outside the organization can make it difficult to get a job in the future, in addition to making the current job untenable. Find out who wrote the anti-piracy policy statement and inform them. Or inform coporate counsel. Anybody is better than the software vendors. If the person concerned has purchase authority, buy copies to cover the pirated copies. No one will dare to penalize you for spending money to protect the corporation from a substantial damage award. They may grouse, but they'll be real careful about keeping their complaints quiet. The evils of large corporations are the result of human frailty rather than intent. Because of their immense size, the accumulated incompetence of the employees can lead to truly bad practices. It is management's job to prevent this if possible, and correct it when they fail. -- Reginald H. Beardsley ARCO Information Services Plano, TX 75075 Phone: (214)-754-6785 Internet: dprrhb@arco.com
alanj@nevermore.WV.TEK.COM (Alan Jeddeloh;685-2991;61-201;292-9740;orca) (06/05/91)
In article <9776X31w164w@spies.com> bbs.attkcat@spies.com (the attack cat) writes: >A friend of mine wants to 'turn in' her employer for software piracy. > >Some of the copied programs are WordPerfect, Pagemaker, and Harvard >Graphics. > >This is a small division of a fortune-100 company (which has a published >non-piracy policy that this division is breaking). There's probably >half-a-dozen computers involved. Depends on how your friend feels about being unemployed :-( Unfortunately, there is very little protection afforded whistle-blowers, particularly in private industry. A better tact might be to work within the system. (1) Find out at what level the software piracy is being condoned. (2) Write a memo (even anonymous if necessary) to the manager at that level, "expressing concern" that the unlawful activities are taking place, that said activities are exposing the company to expensive and embarrassing lawsuit. The memo should be coached in terms of protecting the company *and the manager involved* from very serious trouble. (3) Copy the memo to the manager's manager. (4) If corporrate politics allow, copy the memo to the corporate legal staff. (5) Wait and see what happens. Alan Jeddeloh (503) 685-2991 Tektronix Network Displays D/S 60-180; PO Box 1000; Wilsonville, OR 97070 alanj@nevermore.wv.tek.com T-minus 18 weeks and counting
sharp@mizar.usc.edu (Malcolm Sharp) (06/06/91)
The SPA toll-free number keeps the informant anonymous. 1-800-388-PIR8 -- Malcolm Sharp Coordinator, Instructional/Technical Support University of Southern California School of Public Administration
lstowell@pyrnova.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell) (06/06/91)
In article <1991Jun05.060505.115653@locus.com> cjkuo@locus.com (Chengi Jimmy Kuo) writes: > >As for the original post, all she can do is contact the companies involved. >There's no such thing as copyright police. There is always the Software Publisher's Association...the KGB of software copyright enforcement. See old Computerworld articles... ***************************************************************** Obligatory Disclaimer. This posting was meant in jest. Opinions are not even those of the author...and certainly no official statement the employer.... *****************************************************************
brs@cci632.cci.com (Brian Scherer) (06/06/91)
In article <1991Jun05.060505.115653@locus.com> cjkuo@locus.com (Chengi Jimmy Kuo) writes: >bbs.attkcat@spies.com (the attack cat) writes: > >>A friend of mine wants to 'turn in' her employer for software piracy. > >>Some of the copied programs are WordPerfect, Pagemaker, and Harvard >>Graphics. > >>This is a small division of a fortune-100 company (which has a published >>non-piracy policy that this division is breaking). There's probably >>half-a-dozen computers involved. > >>Is it worth it ? How do she do it ? > >This reminds me of what I think is the most ironic situation concerning >copyright law. > >Since copyright is a federal legal concept, a company in CA cannot sue >the state of CA for copyright infringement because that goes to state court! >(This is where the status of law stands today as backed up by precedent.) >So, the state school system (UCLA, etc.) is immune from copyright law with >respect to copying programs produced by Californian companies. > >As for the original post, all she can do is contact the companies involved. >There's no such thing as copyright police. > >Jimmy Kuo >-- >cjkuo@locus.com >"The correct answer to an either/or question is both!" I do not think that this is correct. Since copywright is federal, it would be done in a federal court, not a state one. Therefore a california company could sue the state of california in federal court. Brian Scherer
harkcom@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp (Alton Harkcom) (06/06/91)
In article <1991Jun05.060505.115653@locus.com> cjkuo@locus.com (Chengi Jimmy Kuo) writes: =}There's no such thing as copyright police. There's not only a copyright police, but a copyright marines and a copyright special forces also. Just ask any small company which tried to compete with the big boys...
ESR@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (Ed Russell) (06/07/91)
>A friend of mine wants to 'turn in' her employer for software piracy.
Most of the suggestions in response to this have been consistent with our
tendency for litigation. I agree with an earlier post that the best way
to approach this is to assume that the company is trying to do the right
thing and does not approve of this. Give the company a chance to fix it
first. It's possible that those who have such bootleg copies are not even
aware that it is illegal or unethical.
I would attempt to approach it from the standpoint of one trying to HELP
the company to avoid problems and to train their employees in the problems
which can occur as a result of bootleg software. Only if that approach was
unsuccessful would I consider reporting it outside the company.jhummel@wave.ics.uci.edu (Joseph Edward Hummel) (06/07/91)
In article <1991Jun5.181842.20626@cci632.cci.com> brs@op632.UUCP (Brian Scherer) writes: >In article <1991Jun05.060505.115653@locus.com> cjkuo@locus.com (Chengi Jimmy Kuo) writes: > >>This reminds me of what I think is the most ironic situation concerning >>copyright law. >> >>Since copyright is a federal legal concept, a company in CA cannot sue >>the state of CA for copyright infringement because that goes to state court! >>(This is where the status of law stands today as backed up by precedent.) >>So, the state school system (UCLA, etc.) is immune from copyright law with >>respect to copying programs produced by Californian companies. > > I do not believe the above is correct... (sorry deleted rest of line) >be done in a federal court, not a state one. Therefore a california >company could sue the state of california in federal court. > >Brian Scherer I'm not sure of the legal jargon, but it's a fact, a small engineering firm (BVE?) sued UCLA for copyright infringement, and UCLA won -- on the defense that the citizen of a state cannot sue the state (because of a federal law, see 11th amendment). We talked about it just the other day in our computer law class... We should probably move followups to some legal newsgroup? - joe hummel -- Joe Hummel ICS Graduate Student, UC Irvine Internet: jhummel@ics.uci.edu
ericr@solbourne.com (Eric Robison) (06/07/91)
I tried your suggestion once. Nobody cared. What's worse, I screwed myself, cause then I couldn't call the SPA winthout the company knowing who called. To make the whole thing worse, the company was a goverment contractor. I could only call the GAO, or my congresscritter, and they don't care much. Call the SPA. Call the FBI anonomously. Call WP, et al. Just remember that the first person to get fired may be yourself. You'll be hungry, but you'll feel good about it.
mpd@anomaly.sbs.com (Michael P. Deignan) (06/07/91)
cjkuo@locus.com (Chengi Jimmy Kuo) writes: >There's no such thing as copyright police. No? Ever heard of BellSouth? MD -- -- Michael P. Deignan / -- Domain: mpd@anomaly.sbs.com / This space intentionally -- UUCP: ...!uunet!rayssd!anomaly!mpd / left blank... -- Telebit: +1 401 455 0347 /
darcy@druid.uucp (D'Arcy J.M. Cain) (06/07/91)
In article <1991Jun6.201553.24357@solbourne.com> Eric Robison writes: >I tried your suggestion once. Nobody cared. What's worse, I screwed myself, >cause then I couldn't call the SPA winthout the company knowing who called. >To make the whole thing worse, the company was a goverment contractor. I >could only call the GAO, or my congresscritter, and they don't care much. > >Call the SPA. Call the FBI anonomously. Call WP, et al. Just remember >that the first person to get fired may be yourself. You'll be hungry, >but you'll feel good about it. If you are going to call someone anonymously why not make it someone in corporate HQ. If that fails you can still call the SPA without danger but you have given your company a chance to clean up their own backyard first. -- D'Arcy J.M. Cain (darcy@druid) | D'Arcy Cain Consulting | There's no government Toronto, Ontario, Canada | like no government! +1 416 424 2871 |
catfood@NCoast.ORG (Mark W. Schumann) (06/12/91)
In article <1991Jun5.134053.19749@Arco.COM> dprrhb@inetg1.ARCO.COM (Reginald H. Beardsley) writes: > buy copies to cover the pirated >copies. No one will dare to penalize you for spending money to protect the >corporation from a substantial damage award. They may grouse, but they'll >be >real careful about keeping their complaints quiet. Sounds like you've been working for some enlightened employers. > The evils of large corporations are the result of human frailty rather >than >intent. Because of their immense size, the accumulated incompetence of the >employees can lead to truly bad practices. It is management's job to >prevent this if possible, and correct it when they fail. I would point out that the original poster never mentioned that it was a large corporation. And most people/companies I know of who pirate software know damn well it is illegal. Including top management. -- ============================================================ Mark W. Schumann 3111 Mapledale Avenue, Cleveland 44109 USA Domain: catfood@ncoast.org UUCP: ...!mailrus!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ncoast!catfood
rjb@ipsa.reuter.com (Ron Bodkin) (06/13/91)
In article <1991Jun12.035754.4201@NCoast.ORG> catfood@NCoast.ORG (Mark W. Schumann) writes: >I would point out that the original poster never mentioned that it >was a large corporation... Unless you consider fortune 500 companies large, in which case they did. Ron
catfood@NCoast.ORG (Mark W. Schumann) (06/15/91)
I wrote: >In article <1991Jun5.134053.19749@Arco.COM> dprrhb@inetg1.ARCO.COM (Reginald H. Beardsley) writes: >> The evils of large corporations are the result of human frailty rather >>than >>intent. >I would point out that the original poster never mentioned that it >was a large corporation. Duh. The original poster sure did mention that. Egg on my face. -- ============================================================ Mark W. Schumann 3111 Mapledale Avenue, Cleveland 44109 USA Domain: catfood@ncoast.org UUCP: ...!mailrus!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ncoast!catfood