Paper number 3

3 - Critical thinking, Ethics, and civic responsibility:  Issue: Software Theft

         Software theft is when unauthorized downloading, sharing, or using without permission of the copyright protected software(www.fastiis.org). There is a long list of types of software theft a few are "Professional counterfeits" which look the same as a genuine boxed product, "Quasi counterfeits" which try to look like the genuine product but don't quite look right, and Internet sites which download/upload illegal software are a few.(www.fastiis.org). Most software thefts occur because they want to make money, and the others who do not make a profit do it because they intend on using is for malicious reasons(www.fastiis.org).
          I will going over two different types of software theft, one of them is Peer to Peer which individuals share software over the internet(www.fastiis.org). Another one of them is Internet sites which individuals download and upload illegal software over the internet(www.fastiis.org). Both of these sound similiar but they are different.
          Peer to Peer individuals are using a program such as Kazaa, Frostwire, or Limewire to share content with other individuals which most of the material is being shared illegally(Heingartner 2004). Having these programs makes swapping of any file very easy , no matter if it is legal or not(Heingartner 2004). These individuals could be individuals who did not know it was illegal to use peer to peer sharing to download music.
          Internet Site software theft is close to Peer to Peer but differs in that, the users download straight from websites. These webistes can be one-click file-hosting sites such as RapidShare, Megaupload, and Hotfile where users can upload their content and share it with other people via hyper link through many different medians, such as emails, ads, or other websites(bsa.org).
          Software theft has a few ramifications, including U.S. Copyright Law which states taht copyright infringement can be punishable by up to five years in prison and 250,000 dollars in fines, also repeat offenders will have up to 10 years in prison. Violoators can also be held liable for damages, lost profits, or work damages up to 150,000 dollars.(Symantec.com)
          I believe that software theft is a pretty common thing these days, but I don't do any pirating myself. The ramifications for pirating software is not worth the software. It would be terrible to be caught, therefore I would not partake in the theft. It costs companies lots of money by having their software downloaded elsewhere for free.



Cited:
www.Fastiis.org. Federation Against Software Theft. 2013. Company No.01821298, VAT No. 404563570. 11/11/2013. http://www.fastiis.org/our_services/enforcement/software_theft/
Heingartner, Douglas. "Software Piracy Is in Resurgence, With New Safeguards Eroded by File Sharing." nytimes.com. 19, January 2004. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/19/business/software-piracy-is-in-resurgence-with-new-safeguards-eroded-by-file-sharing.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. 11/11/2013
www.bsa.org. Business Software Alliance. October 2009. BSA. 11/11/2013
www.symantec.com. Symantec. unsure publish date. Symantec. 11/11/2013