Serge Ntamack, is License Compliance Manager, Microsoft Nigeria. His organization has been in the forefront of fighting the war against piracy. He spoke to emeka okafor on Software Piracy
What is intellectual property?
It’s often said that ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law. And to a certain extent, it’s true, especially when it comes to issues like theft.
You can’t plead ignorance to stealing something, killing someone or driving drunk. But the issue of intellectual property theft still falls into a “grey area” where it is very easy to be involved in software piracy and not know that what you are doing is wrong.
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind. These include inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs used for business purposes.
Intellectual property is divided into two categories: industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks and industrial designs and copyright, which includes literary and artistic works (music, movies and poetry) artistic works (drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures and architectural designs) and lastly, computer software.
While intellectual property is intangible (i.e. you can’t physically touch it because it is not a material item), in this modern information age intellectual property carries as much, if not more, monetary value than material possessions.
As a result, intellectual property and copyright laws have been put into place both to recognise that it not only retains value but also protects the rights of the creators and owners of the IP.
In essence, what lawmakers have set out to achieve is, in the same way that taking something of value without the owner’s permission is considered theft, intellectual property can also be “stolen” and it is considered illegal to do so.
What is software piracy?
By its most basic definition, software piracy is the unauthorised copying or distribution of copyrighted software – essentially stealing the intellectual property within the software.
Normally, a person would require a licence to use a piece of software, which entitles the user to install and use the software on one or many computers – depending on the terms of the licence.
However these licences can be abused, leading to software being misused. This “misuse” can include piracy and the different methods of software piracy are defined below:
Hard-disk loading – This is the most common form of piracy and is normally employed by computer shops and resellers, who aim to cut the cost of computers by loading unlicensed copies of software onto multiple computers without paying for it.
Simple copies - Simple copies are the easiest to identify because they do not resemble the original packaging and “look” of genuine software. Software is typically burned onto an unbranded CD or DVD and comes with no accompanying documentation or certificates of authenticity (COAs) to prove that they are genuine.
Counterfeits – Counterfeit software is the most difficult type of illegal software to identify. Software is typically shipped on an official-looking CD or DVD and comes in packaging that appears to look original. Visible mistakes like mismatched colours, spelling errors, bad printing and generic CD cases are indicators that the software may be a fake.
So if you’re planning to go out and buy a new computer or laptop, be sure to keep your eye out for any of the above examples.
And remember to ask for all the media (i.e. CDs, DVDs, software licenses, COAs and manuals) associated with the software that you are purchasing for the computer. If the retailer doesn’t have these for you, then turn around and take your business to a certified Microsoft reseller.
