Using pirated software

[onequestion]

I know using pirated software is bad... but lets just say I use pirated software for personal use and not for business use....If I partition my hd, one partition for business, one for personal. And completely separate business from personal. Would this be adequate to protect my legal LLC from getting in trouble? or would it have to be a whole different pc?

[onequestion]

I think I need to clarify.

If I use the pirated software ONLY on my personal partition, and if I separate my backups (biz/ personal) would that protect my biz from lawsuit or whatever?

[scottyp]

I don't see how it would make a difference. Whether or not you have partitions or multiple disk drives or whatever on your machine, the pirated software would still be considered yours.

If you are running a business, I'd suggest steering clear from pirated software. If you simply use office/web applications there are plenty of free alternatives like open office.

[Dharma]

Put it on a separate machine. If your machine is confiscated they're gonna grab the whole thing. You'll lose the company files too.

As scotty said, look for open source... there a ton of great, free, software out there.

[Lucas]

I hate commercial software...in the sense that it hinders legit users more than illicit users. I am completely GPL-based anymore and I love it. Even when I used Windows, I used a pirated copy, just to get around the activation and all the annoyances.

[gberardi]

I use GNU/Linux as my main OS, and I have found that the only thing I ever need Windows for is games (which is something I hope to help change).

I don't have the same demands that others do, however, and I know some people need specific software that is Windows-only, but for many things, you can find cheap or freely available substitutions.

Piracy is a dumb, emotion-laced name for copyright infringement. It's not theft, but it isn't ok, either. Someone created something and said you can copy/use/distribute/etc only under specific circumstances. You are probably creating something in the same manner. Why expect other people to play nice with your terms when you are playing fast and loose with others?

On the other hand, I have found a use for cracks. For instance, I had a laptop without a CD drive, and I wanted to play a game that required the CD. Well, the crack allowed me to play my legitimately purchased copy just fine. It was probably illegal, but I didn't feel that my use of the crack was wrong.

That use of the crack truly was a victimless crime, I think. Using a crack to get around paying for a legit copy, on the other hand, is wrong and rude.

[Milo Riano]

If you hate commercial software then it would be best not to use it at all instead of using pirated copies and stab them in return.

[gberardi]

Originally Posted by Milo Riano

If you hate commercial software then it would be best not to use it at all instead of using pirated copies and stab them in return.

Yeah, why continue to support the very thing you don't like? As I understand it, Microsoft actually prefers that Windows is pirated in India and China and other up-and-coming nations because it means that they will be raised on using it rather than some other system.

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by Milo Riano

If you hate commercial software then it would be best not to use it at all instead of using pirated copies and stab them in return.

Was that directed at me? (I was the only one who said I hate commercial software) Cause for the record, I dont use commercial software, I use all free and open source stuff.

[tobyhede]

I do not think that running software on a seperate partition would protect you. And really, would it be worth the trouble having to prove to the authorities "No, I really ONLY use that drive/partition/machine for PERSONAL use only"?

In these days of great Open Source software therte are really NO EXCUSES for software piracy.

You'll find a number of software developers on this forum, myself included, who feel VERY strongly about this issue. If you don't support us, we can't make a living.

I suggest you read some of the other forums regarding intention and the like ... do you really want to found a business on this sort of energy?

And a note about the forum while I am here: Any request for pirate software or advice on how to hack, crack or otherwise pirate software will be taken down immediately.

[Kiba]

The usage of "commercial" is utterly wrong. What you want to use is properitary softwares, not commercial software. Otherwise, people will get the impression that open source softwares are all nonprofit.

Some open source softwares(I prefer the term Free softwares) are commercial. Such as RedHat linux for example.

[Baltar]

Originally Posted by tobyhede

I do not think that running software on a seperate partition would protect you. And really, would it be worth the trouble having to prove to the authorities "No, I really ONLY use that drive/partition/machine for PERSONAL use only"?

I agree, if it's on the computer that you use for business it doesn't matter what partition it's on. But I must also point out that there's no reason you wouldn't be punished if you use pirated software for personal use. Businesses are usually targeted because they have more money they can pay in fines (making prosecution more worthwhile), and probably because it's not considered as bad for PR as targeting individual consumers. People have been prosecuted for downloading pirated music, why is software any different?

Either way, there are much better reasons for not using pirated software. Ethics come to mind. People consider stealing a physical object to be a crime, but not software. If you try to steal boxed software from a store, you'll be prosecuted for shoplifting. But if you download pirated (essentially stolen) software online, it's considered ok? What's the difference? It's the same exact software. Another thing I should point out is that Microsoft became the de facto standard in part due to the massive piracy of its products. Lots of people have used and still use pirated copies of Windows and MS Office, instead of using alternatives like Linux and OpenOffice. People often say they're doing this because they don't like Microsoft or that the products are overpriced, but if you're using their products you're still supporting their monopoly.

If there's a commercial product you want to use but can't afford, then use an alternative. For each very expensive commercial product there's a cheaper or free alternative available. For instance, if you can't afford Adobe Photoshop, use Paint Shop Pro. Or if you don't want to pay any money, use GIMP. Can't afford 3D Studio Max? Blender is free. Also, many high priced products (that are intended for professionals which can afford them) have cheaper mainstream consumer targeted versions. For instance Adobe Premiere has Adobe Premiere Elements. These days there's really no excuse for using pirated software. Finally, there are small software developers like me and others on this forum, for whom sales of their software may be their main or only source of income. Software piracy hurts us little guys the most.

[andrew]

I agree, it does hurt the small developers the most. But I develop with the notion that it will be cracked anyways, and what I can do to use that to my advantage. There's nothing stopping them, abeit I do try to make it as hard as possible.

I find it flattering almost that somebody wants to use my software so much they'll go through all that work for it. Sure I'm losing a little money, but most of it would come from bulk licenses from studios that obviously can't pirate. While nobody want's to be ripped off, it's only money. Creating a community from my product, meeting new people, pushing the boundries in my industry, learning about business, and creating great software is much more important to me that caring about a few thousand bucks lost.

Are the most popular products pirated because their popular, or are they popular because their pirated?

Anyways, piracy is bad, don't do it.

[MartialDev]

Originally Posted by onequestion

If I partition my hd, one partition for business, one for personal. And completely separate business from personal. Would this be adequate to protect my legal LLC from getting in trouble? or would it have to be a whole different pc?

Law enforcement will take every machine you have, partitions be damned. And all your backups, too. This is called "evidence".

[gberardi]

Originally Posted by Kiba

The usage of "commercial" is utterly wrong. What you want to use is properitary softwares, not commercial software. Otherwise, people will get the impression that open source softwares are all nonprofit.

Some open source softwares(I prefer the term Free softwares) are commercial. Such as RedHat linux for example.

Ah, good catch, Kiba! I'm usually the one who makes the distinction. Good to know that I'm not the only one. B-)

[DanielSmith]

i just wondered if i use the pirated software, what lawsuit i would confronted with?i don't think anybody else would kown that if i use it for private use

[Brutha]

Either way, there are much better reasons for not using pirated software. Ethics come to mind. People consider stealing a physical object to be a crime, but not software. If you try to steal boxed software from a store, you'll be prosecuted for shoplifting. But if you download pirated (essentially stolen) software online, it's considered ok? What's the difference?

If I buy an apple and plant the seed in my garden to grow a apple tree, and eat the apples from that apple tree that would also be the same as stealing apples from a grocery store right?

Stealing phyical items is just something different then duplicating them and giving away those dupicates.

Another thing I should point out is that Microsoft became the de facto standard in part due to the massive piracy of its products. Lots of people have used and still use pirated copies of Windows and MS Office, instead of using alternatives like Linux and OpenOffice. People often say they're doing this because they don't like Microsoft or that the products are overpriced, but if you're using their products you're still supporting their monopoly.

You can either say that pirating a product is helping a company or you can say it is damaging.
Saying both at the same time is just silly.

[cliffski]

"Stealing phyical items is just something different then duplicating them and giving away those dupicates."

I don't buy that. The cost of duplication is effectively zero, so the fact that you do it rather than the software producer is trivial. the fact is, if someone puts time and effort into a product to design and develop it, and you take a copy, and enjoy its benefits without payment, then that's wrong.

If the ideology you advocate for yourself as a consumer does not scale up to the entire market (everyone copying stuff and nobody paying) then you are (by definition) freeloading off other people. You can't download a hacked copy of photoshop 6 unless there are enough legit buyers of that product to pay for its development.

[Baltar]

Originally Posted by Brutha

If I buy an apple and plant the seed in my garden to grow a apple tree, and eat the apples from that apple tree that would also be the same as stealing apples from a grocery store right?

Stealing phyical items is just something different then duplicating them and giving away those dupicates.

To make a tree out of an apple requires quite a bit of work. You don't just put it into the ground and WHAM! you've got a tree. If it were that simple, nobody would ever buy apples -- people would just grow them in their backyard. That's why your analogy doesn't work. Growing apple trees from a seed is equivalent to writing a competing copy (even a clone) of a certain software using the same tools (programming language and compiler) as the person who wrote the original software. That's what's required to go from a seed to a tree. By planting your own trees you're entering the market legitimately and you have to compete with existing apple growers. Duplicating software would be like taking apples from another person's tree. Sure, they still have the tree but you're stealing some of their apples. Not a perfect analogy either but it works better I think.

Originally Posted by Brutha

You can either say that pirating a product is helping a company or you can say it is damaging.
Saying both at the same time is just silly.

I was talking about Microsoft primarily, which is really a unique case when it comes to piracy. Microsoft unlike most software companies has always had three major channels of distribution: OEM (PC makers), businesses (volume licensing), and retail (home users). I would imagine that 99.9% of the piracy occurred in the home user market (OEMs obviously don't pirate, and very few businesses do as well). Most of Microsoft's revenue comes from OEM sales I believe, followed by business licenses and then a little bit of retail sales. So in their case having lots of piracy at retail level didn't hurt them that much and only reinforced their monopoly in the long term.

However, despite this they're finally starting to crack down on piracy. They probably feel that they've reached max home user market saturation and it's time to use their monopoly power to force people to pay up. That's why Windows XP had online activation, and why the MS web site is starting to only allow updates to "genuine" verified copies of Windows. Piracy didn't create the MS monopoly (the OEMs did it for them) but it certainly helped strengthen it. If people use it at home they're likely to use it at work (where a legit copy would be used) and it becomes a vicious two way cycle. But this only works if your software is necessary for both home and business use, and if you've established yourself as a de facto monopoly through crooked OEM deals.