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 destroyed or used solely as a backup.
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 February 1992 issue of Benchmarks (Vol. 13, No.
2).
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 quandry 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) 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. They also have a
brand new WWW site at http://www.spa.org
Another organization, the Business Software Alliance (BSA), also has
a toll-free hotline: 1- 800-688-BSA1 (2721). FAX:(202)737-7063.
Next Article
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