Computer Piracy

Warez

"Warez is a slang term for pirated software" (BSA). The Internet is currently the most common way to get warez. Internet piracy can be completed in your own home with little chance of detection. The vastness of the Internet makes it very easy to find whatever you want, whenever you want, for free, or for a small fee. Common methods of Internet piracy include E-Mail, News Groups, IRC, Mail Order, FTP, and the World Wide Web. Each has its advantages, and disadvantages.

One of the reasons pirates claim that piracy is acceptable is because software is so expensive. This argument is invalid. The reason that software is so expensive to begin with, is because of software piracy. According to a study conducted by the International Planning and Research Corporation "worldwide losses due to software piracy were a staggering $12.2 billion in 1999" (SPA). In order to recuperate these massive losses, software companies have had to increase prices every year.

Pirates claim that if they download a pirated program and like it, that they will purchase it. They do not want to waste their money on a program only to find out that it doesn't function the way they thought it would. Some pirates do buy programs if they like them and use them. However, the majority of pirates will never buy the programs once they have them. Most warez traders treat pirated software like "digital baseball cards" (Pogue). According to one pirate, Jake, the value of these "digital baseball cards... is the prestige of ownership". Jake does not even know what half of the programs he owns are. And, according to a poll by 3dnews.net, 40% of pirates think that "three quarters of [software isn't good], so I'm not going to pay for [it]" (Hamlin). Also, 12% of pirates "enjoy getting something for nothing" (Hamlin). That means that over half of the pirates wouldn't buy the software even if they enjoyed it.

Another argument is that warez pirates have nothing to worry about because it is not illegal to distribute warez. Another false statement according to the BSA. "An author can seek civil damages in the amount of their actual value, or statutory damages of $100,000 per work infringed. Criminal penalties include fines of up to $250,000 and jail terms up to 5 years, or both. In December 1997, President Clinton signed a law called the 'No Electronic Theft' (NET) Act that allows criminal prosecution of copyright infringement, even where there is no profit motive, closing a loophole in U.S. Copyright Law" (BSA).

A final argument by warez pirates is that because the Internet is so large, and there are so many sites, that they will never be caught. This is not true. The BSA, SPA, and many other organizations are actively pursuing pirates, shutting down hundreds of sites every year, and prosecuting hundreds of people. The number of prosecutions increases every year. Many organizations have undercover agents, web crawlers, and have hotlines for people to disclose information on pirates.

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