Does copy protection create software pirates?
Sunday, September 21, 2003 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News
So does putting copy protection on CDs thwart pirates or does it create more? How can you reduce software piracy?This article says no: https://www.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=209
My view is this:
1) CD copy protection mainly inconveniences legitimate buyers, not pirates.
2) Most game companies are completely unaware of how *convenient* piracy has become in the last couple of years. CD protection only adds more incentive to pirate. A casual gamer is likely to think "Why am I paying $50 for a game that makes me keep track of fairly delicate things (CDs) when I could, with a few clicks, have the game for free and not have to deal with copy protection?
3) The best way to combat piracy is to make the incentive for being a customer greater than the incentive for being a pirate. Give more benefits to purchasing such as free updates after release that are easy to obtain for legitimate buyers and more difficult for pirates.
That's in a nutshell. This issue really struck a nerve here because I'm packing up for a 3 day trip and as I go through a few games I'd like to play while on the plane or at night in the hotel, I realize that I don't want to take the CDs with me (what if they get scratched or lost?) which means no game. That's ridiculous.
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rikkie
Reply #22 Tuesday, September 23, 2003 9:50 PM
Reply #22 Tuesday, September 23, 2003 9:50 PM
It's the same story all over again 
We had this debate when audio-tape was introduced and we had it when video-tape was...in both those cases the problem was solved by adding to the price of the blank media , a very elegant solution in my opinion.I think making a copy for personal use should be perfectly legal and in no way should be prevented by the producer of the software ( be it a game or application ). Case in point : I bought perfectly legal copies of the tomb-raider series games ( all 5 of them , haven't bought the new one yet 
) and made copies of the original cd's straight away . In hindsight this was a very wise decision as the quality of the originals left lots to be desired : the original cd's are now completely unusable 
At about the sam time I also bought a copy of fifa 98 and tried to make a copy of that one also , just in case .This software was equipped with a very good copy-prevention system though which made it impossible to make a copy ( even for personal use ). This original cd , after a while , was also useless and wouldn't load .But this time : no copy 
I tried to get a replacement-cd , but was told the malfunction of the cd was caused by me trying to make a copy of it and so got no replacement and no refund !! I think this is an outrageous policy and will do the industry far more harm in the end then whatever piracy is around .My opinion is clear on this issue :
- if you want to prevent piracy , make sure your service and client-support is second to none . The surplus you get from very good support is reason enough to opt to purchase the software..rather then risk to have faulty software and nowhere to turn.
- the only way to compensate for the loss of revenue piracy is causing is to add something to the price of the blank media ( you can't combat sharing-communities or copying because people will always find a way : simply because the blank media is freely available and rightfully so )
The way things are going now is an exact repeat of what we saw with audio- and video - tape : trying to prevent something from happening after it is already happening ....I admit : I download mp3's now and again ( even the occasional piece of software , but when I hear 2 or three songs that are really good I'm more inclined to buy the cd , not lessand when I like some piece of software I sre want to support the producers thereof ... but let's face it : there is no wy to get rid of piracy and to attempt to do that is a waste of energy better spent on good consumer-support ( prime example is Trillian , I can't believe people who want to rip of such a small company for 25 lousy dollars !! )
We had this debate when audio-tape was introduced and we had it when video-tape was...in both those cases the problem was solved by adding to the price of the blank media , a very elegant solution in my opinion.I think making a copy for personal use should be perfectly legal and in no way should be prevented by the producer of the software ( be it a game or application ). Case in point : I bought perfectly legal copies of the tomb-raider series games ( all 5 of them , haven't bought the new one yet 
) and made copies of the original cd's straight away . In hindsight this was a very wise decision as the quality of the originals left lots to be desired : the original cd's are now completely unusable 
At about the sam time I also bought a copy of fifa 98 and tried to make a copy of that one also , just in case .This software was equipped with a very good copy-prevention system though which made it impossible to make a copy ( even for personal use ). This original cd , after a while , was also useless and wouldn't load .But this time : no copy 
I tried to get a replacement-cd , but was told the malfunction of the cd was caused by me trying to make a copy of it and so got no replacement and no refund !! I think this is an outrageous policy and will do the industry far more harm in the end then whatever piracy is around .My opinion is clear on this issue :- if you want to prevent piracy , make sure your service and client-support is second to none . The surplus you get from very good support is reason enough to opt to purchase the software..rather then risk to have faulty software and nowhere to turn.
- the only way to compensate for the loss of revenue piracy is causing is to add something to the price of the blank media ( you can't combat sharing-communities or copying because people will always find a way : simply because the blank media is freely available and rightfully so )
The way things are going now is an exact repeat of what we saw with audio- and video - tape : trying to prevent something from happening after it is already happening ....I admit : I download mp3's now and again ( even the occasional piece of software , but when I hear 2 or three songs that are really good I'm more inclined to buy the cd , not lessand when I like some piece of software I sre want to support the producers thereof ... but let's face it : there is no wy to get rid of piracy and to attempt to do that is a waste of energy better spent on good consumer-support ( prime example is Trillian , I can't believe people who want to rip of such a small company for 25 lousy dollars !! )
AJCrowley
Reply #23 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 1:18 AM
Reply #23 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 1:18 AM
It is refreshing to hear from a software company who actually understands that the only people copy protection inconveniences are valid consumers. Fortunately for people like you and I, when I last took my laptop on holiday, there are a couple of popular websites that offer downloads of cracked versions of games so you don't need the CD to play, and don't need to cart your delicate property half way around the world.
Another prime example of this is the latest copy protection on music cds. It prevents people ripping it to mp3 format by being made incompatible with computer CD-ROM drives. Of course, it was a matter of days before someone worked out the marker trick to beat this ingenious new protection, and there's now ripping software that goes right around it, but at the time it inconvenienced legitimate consumers. My computers are my media centers, and the first thing I do after buying a CD is rip it to mp3 and put the CD in storage. My entire music collection is on my computer, and as such, I don't own any other "stereo" system, especially nothing with as high end sound as my PC speakers. Of course, after purchasing my first copy protected CD, I found that I could not put it into my collection. Of course, I returned the disc on principal, and then got it onto my computer the only way I could - by downloading a copy, which had incidentally been available for some time before the CD as well.
In the end, copy protection will just be an inconvenience for legitimate consumers, which in turn will develop hostility towards the publisher, and retaliation by piracy. I know it's stealing, but it's like taking home a pen from the huge corporate office, not like beating an an old lady to steal her purse.
Another prime example of this is the latest copy protection on music cds. It prevents people ripping it to mp3 format by being made incompatible with computer CD-ROM drives. Of course, it was a matter of days before someone worked out the marker trick to beat this ingenious new protection, and there's now ripping software that goes right around it, but at the time it inconvenienced legitimate consumers. My computers are my media centers, and the first thing I do after buying a CD is rip it to mp3 and put the CD in storage. My entire music collection is on my computer, and as such, I don't own any other "stereo" system, especially nothing with as high end sound as my PC speakers. Of course, after purchasing my first copy protected CD, I found that I could not put it into my collection. Of course, I returned the disc on principal, and then got it onto my computer the only way I could - by downloading a copy, which had incidentally been available for some time before the CD as well.
In the end, copy protection will just be an inconvenience for legitimate consumers, which in turn will develop hostility towards the publisher, and retaliation by piracy. I know it's stealing, but it's like taking home a pen from the huge corporate office, not like beating an an old lady to steal her purse.
The_Wanderer
Reply #24 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 7:24 PM
Reply #24 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 7:24 PM
The mainframes and microframes had copy protection for years. One method is a SSD chip that gives each PC a unique hash total. When you install software, you need to register with the manufacture. That way they can verify if you are loading a copy that was paid for.
I see no problem if PCs begin using a secure system similar to the SSD chip.
Remember these thoughts:
No one is forcing you to buy or pirate software. It's your choice, good or bad.
It's stealing no matter the amount, level or justification. If some amount/level/justification is OK then what's the cutoff, and what slippery slope will this cause later down the road?
I see no problem if PCs begin using a secure system similar to the SSD chip.
Remember these thoughts:
No one is forcing you to buy or pirate software. It's your choice, good or bad.
It's stealing no matter the amount, level or justification. If some amount/level/justification is OK then what's the cutoff, and what slippery slope will this cause later down the road?
karb0n
Reply #25 Saturday, September 27, 2003 8:10 AM
Reply #25 Saturday, September 27, 2003 8:10 AM
The way i see games now is you pay the money for the CDKEY - NOT the game.
I bought C&C generals and after a while cd1 got a massive crack in it! so was i gonna pay an extra £7 for a new cd? Nope, downloaded cd1 with no cd crack and now i have a working copy.
As The_Wanderer said its stealing but so is recording a tv program. we have to justify it to ourselfs, no one else!
I bought C&C generals and after a while cd1 got a massive crack in it! so was i gonna pay an extra £7 for a new cd? Nope, downloaded cd1 with no cd crack and now i have a working copy.
As The_Wanderer said its stealing but so is recording a tv program. we have to justify it to ourselfs, no one else!
mojoinst
Reply #26 Sunday, September 28, 2003 11:18 PM
Reply #26 Sunday, September 28, 2003 11:18 PM
i agree with frogboy... but i can well relate to Grfx Guru's comments. i my self use all of macromedia MX, and not that long ago purchased a legit copy... but with all the new releases i am certainly tempted to download a trial version and crck it, there is no insentive to keep paying thousands of dollars for software which just constantly becomes out of date... fair enough if they charged you a lot lesser cost to by a software update... but you they are running an oligopoly and making us purchase a whole new software packages... then they complain about piracey... they are bringing it on themseleves
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Reply #21 Tuesday, September 23, 2003 4:20 AM
The thing that makes me mad is EA (generals) and there protections. I play with my girlfrend over network. Because of the copy protection I need to buy the game twice this sucks. And things like that make me use a crack for the for the game so that I don't need to buy it twice. Also software company's offer you less for more.
Looking @ the MOD communtiy the offer mutch more game play than add ons from the companies often with the same quality or even better. (Zero hour) is a small pack with some new features If I look at the MOD SecondeWave I'll get way more new untis and stuff for free.
Still I think that Valve did a good job on HL1 with the support and mods I think games like that must be bought. But If you look at a recent game like Matrix I had a copy of the game installed it and played it, only one side was playable because of the bugs, game play and grapics are bad as could be. I played It 30 min. and unistalled it, if I had bought the game nothing would be difrent except I would have been pi**ed off because of the bugs, as a frend of me how did buy it.
Inprove the support, offer good quality and game play and the hardcore gammer will buy the game, even if he has got a copy of the game.
I allways look for copies first! If I play the game longer than 4 hour's its allways worth buying it. Buy games that are crap will be deleted and will never be bought.
Without the piracy the games would be bought less, because most people don't buy games the don't know.
ps swaping cd's is'nt that good for the cd you'll get scratches and things, someday the cd doesn't work and you can't play.. This is crap
Shadow