kalm@ihuxw.UUCP (James ) (04/05/84)
> Article-I.D.: orca.744 > Posted: Fri Mar 30 11:40:28 1984 > Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR > I'd like to demonstrate how some recent comments defending software > piracy can be applied to another industry. > > . . . Much of the [software] piracy is by hobbyists with limited > budgets. In many cases, the hobbyist would not buy the pirated > program in the first place." > > Ditto for automobile theft, where people assume that N car thefts imply > a loss of N car sales. Also not true. Much car theft is by hobbyists > with limited budgets. In many cases, the hobbyist would not buy the > stolen car in the first place. > > And no doubt some car sales are lost due to theft, but I'm quite sure > that the amount is far less than some would have us believe. > > My point is that it is a fallacy to claim that software piracy is > somehow okay because the evil software vendors overcharge or the poor > hobbyists can't afford to buy all the wonderful software. These issues > are not relevant to the question of right or wrong. > > Using someone's software without permission is stealing. A person who > does this is a thief. It's as simple as that. Your point is well taken but your analogy was poor. The theft of an automobile results in INCREASED sales, obviously, for the replacements. The biggest losers are those of us who have to pay the ever-increasing insurance rates. About the only good analogies are records, tapes and video tapes because in commodities of these forms it is possible to steal something without "taking" it. Even photo-copying books is different because it usually involves the stealing of paper and chemicals from one's employer in order to make it economically feasible. -- Jim Kalmadge - AT&T Bell Labs IX 1c415 8-367-0475 (312) 979-0475 ihuxw!kalm