Situation #1: A software program has been purchased by an office for one of its employees. Other employees in the same office hear of the program and discover that it would be a great help to them in their work. Can legal copies be made?
Answer: No, legal copies cannot be made. Many people make this mistake, believing that as long as the program is for company business, the use of it within the workplace is legal. Most license agreements require that each machine or workstation that uses the program must have a purchased copy of that program.
Situation #2: A computer which "belonged" to the employee you are replacing is now yours. All sorts of wonderful programs are on it and you assume they are legal copies. If you are audited and are found to have illegal software on your machine, are you responsible?
Answer: You may be responsible, depending on policies within your department. Just because somebody else put the software on the machine doesn't mean you are blameless. Essentially, you turned a blind eye and benefited from the existence of the software on the machine. Ways to determine whether or not your software is legal are: check to see if official documentation exists for your machine; check to see if there are any official diskettes for the program; check for official templates on your computer keyboard. If none of these three exists, be prepared to find out that the software is illegal. You may want to speak with the person in your department who keeps track of purchasing software for more information on the programs installed on your machine.
Situation #3: The office operates on a network. Since one person has a legal copy of a software program, and has installed it on the network, everyone is allowed to use it. True or False?
Answer: Either answer may be correct, depending on what the software license says. Some licenses are strict and insist that every person who uses a program, whether it be on a network or not, must purchase the program. Some software companies sell site licenses, and these allow everyone on the network to use the program without purchasing copies for each individual who will use it.
Situation #4: An update for your spreadsheet program arrives. Your co-worker has been asking you for a copy of the program, but you know that it is illegal so you refused. But now that the new version has arrived, and you have no need for the old version, can you give it to your co-worker?
Answer: No. Updates are defined as enhancements to the original package that you purchased. Once the package has been updated, the old package should be surplused or used solely as a backup. If you want to surplus some software (or other University property) you will need to contact the Property and Inventory Control department, 565-2191.
Situation #5: You have a big presentation to give tomorrow and, as five o'clock rolls around, you realize that you have to be home to baby-sit your children. Once the kids are settled in bed, can you use the software from the office on your home machine?
Answer: Maybe. Again, it depends on what the software license says. Some licenses say that software can be used both at home and at the office. Some say that the program can be used on several machines, provided that no two are running at the same time. Some programs are very restrictive, and say that the program can only be used on one machine. If you don't have access to the license, or if you find it ambiguous or unclear, make sure you check with someone such as a technical support person, about the details before you copy anything.
Software Piracy
This is a heavily edited version of an article that appeared in the
University of British Columbia University Computing Services' newsletter Campus
Computing (January 1992, Vol. 7, No. 1). The original authors are Wendy Alexander
(wendy_alexznder@mtsa.ubc.ca), Teresa Tenisci (teresa_tenisci@mtsa.ubc.ca)
University Computing Services, the University of British Columbia. A previous version
of this article appeared in the March/April 1995 (Vol. 16, No. 2) and the February 1992
(Vol. 13, No. 2) issue of Benchmarks.
The University of Oregon Continuation Center settled a copyright
lawsuit with the Software Publishers Association to pay $130,000 as well as organize
and host a national conference on copyright law and software use. This was the first
software copyright suit brought against a higher education institution. The federal suit
was filed against the school in February 1990 on behalf of several software vendors,
including Lotus Development Corp., Microsoft Corp. and WordPerfect Corp. The suit
alleged that the center employees made unauthorized copies of the software
companies' program and training manuals.
- Ledger, Association of College and University Auditors, Nov. 1991
When we speak of pirates in today's world, two different visions come to mind. The first is of a latter-day swashbuckling ruffian who captured
cargo ships and stole the riches and wealth aboard for himself. The second is of a person
who copies software from a source to their own PC, without purchasing it from a legal
vendor. We may see both as underdogs, fighting the injustice of "the system," while
remaining worthy at heart, and therefore somehow admirable. No wonder software piracy
is not viewed as a crime by most people.
In fact, software piracy is a crime. It is theft. When a software package is purchased from a legal vendor, a contract exists between the vendor and the
purchaser. This contract, called a license, can be found in various places: in the
instruction manuals, other documentation, or on the disk itself. Most people believe that
once they have purchased software, they own it. This is not quite true. In fact, what has
been purchased is the license which allows the purchaser to use the product. The software
company still owns the software. This lack of understanding often leads to breaches of
the contract through software piracy, and in many cases the culprits are not even aware of
the illegalities of their actions. Sometimes, just breaking the seal of a disk package
constitutes a legal and binding acceptance of the license's conditions.
Don't make UNT the target of the next search warrant. The embarrassment that would be caused by a lawsuit would be damaging to the reputation
of the University, and the fines can be very expensive. Don't be fooled into thinking that
only the University will be liable and have to pay. Depending on policies in place within
your department, you too, might be liable.
Some Common Scenarios
What follows are some common situations that will test your knowledge of what is legal and what is not when it comes to software duplication.
What to Do?
If you find yourself in a quandary over software usage, someone should be able
to help you. As a first step, contact Support Services in the Computing Center
[ISB 119, (817) 565-2324, helpdesk@unt.edu], and see if someone there can
answer your question.
The Software Publishers Association (SPA -
http://www.spa.org) operates a toll-free hotline through which you can
access information about how to order an anti-piracy video, or a self-audit
kit, or just get some anti-piracy information. The number is: 1-800-388-7478.
You can contact them via E-mail at piracy@spa.org.
Another organization, the Business Software Alliance (BSA -
http://www.bsa.org/), also has a toll-free hotline: 1-800-688-BSA1 (2721). FAX:
(202)737-7063.
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