Computer & Videogame Piracy:
What is Piracy?
Arrrgh, matey!! The first images that come to my mind when I hear the word "piracy", are Jolly Rogers, peg legs, pirate ships, and buried treasures. However, in the context of this website, and according to the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), software piracy is defined as "the unauthorized use of software." The types of piracy include the following, according to SIIA's site:
- "Purchasing a single user license and loading it onto multiple computers or a server ('softloading');
- Making, distributing and/or selling copies that appear to be from an authorized source ('counterfeiting');
- Renting software without permission from the copyright holder;
- Distributing and/or selling software that has been 'unbundled,' or separated, from the products with which it was intended to have been 'bundled';
- Downloading copyrighted software from the Internet or bulletin boards without permission from the copyright holder."1
A common defense cited by software pirates is that such actions are protected by the first amendment--when in fact, they are not. Furthermore, the first amendment and its copyright protections are used to provide the necessary protection to software such as video games which are considered to be forms of speech and expression.
What are the effects of Piracy?