Why do we allow theft on the internet? I mean if someone came in to your yard or house and took something of value you would call the local law enforcement and report the theft, would you not?
But on the internet thieves thrive! It is 'cool' to take someone else's property and then give it away to as many people they can.
The main problem is the 'freedom' of the internet. It is in every country, almost every village, town, and most certainly every city. This 'freedom' is viewed in different ways by different cultures but most view theft as major crime and in some the consequences are very deadly. Then why do we condone it on the internet?
It starts with the original person that 'posts' it on the internet some where, a newsgroup, a bulletin board, a web site, or a blog. That is the original thief, they may have bought it, or they may have stolen it. Some of the more 'relevant' groups ask for store clerks to steal new programs as soon as they are stocked on the shelves. For a while there were 'leaks' of new programs from the larger software companies but that has been stopped. Once they have a fresh copy of the program they then go to work breaking the publishers' security.
Once the programs has been 'cracked' the thieves send it out to 'courier' groups that post or upload the program on the internet. The internet is the vehicle of choice, there are few select 'clubs' that if a person is serious enough they can 'join for a fee' and get all the pirated software they want.
Counter fitting is big business in some countries, professional 'hackers' circumvent the publishers locks and encryption then either sale the end product at a cheaper price or just give it away.
How to combat this blatant theft? It is not easy. The main reason it is hard to combat the theft is that some countries derive income from the counter fitting. Another reason is that some countries can not afford the cost of policing the internet.
On October 28, 1998 a law was enacted in the US of A called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, DMCA law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Most countries agreed to enforce the treaties incorporated in to the DMCA and be came signatories of the Act. But the countries that did not sign on to the Act are the main problem. These countries are havens for the thieves. At this time one of the biggest pirate operations is in court fighting against the Act as unconstitutional in their country. They may win the case, their country is not a signatory to the Act.
However in the larger scheme of things they are small fish compared to one country that has an industry setup to counter fit not only software but all media. They are not signatories to the ACT.
Unless all countries are forced to sign on to the DCMA and enforce it the only thing a publisher can do is to 'ask politely' that the counter fit software be removed from a hosting server. There are no consequences to the pirates, or the hosting company, they just move on to the next internet host that will allow them to upload their stolen products.
Some publishers do have the money and the legal staff to fight piracy but they are few and only take on cases they can win. Can one blame them? Who can fight a country that not only endorses but encourages counterfiting? Only if the international community steps up and says 'This is wrong! The penalty for piracy will be time in prison for a length of time.' And enforce the law, no deals, no special considerations! This will help to put a stop to this blatant theft, it may not stop it but it will make it painful if the thief is caught.
This is the main problem with the Act:
DMCA Title II, the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act ("OCILLA"), creates a safe harbor for online service providers (OSPs, including ISPs) against copyright liability if they adhere to and qualify for certain prescribed safe harbor guidelines and promptly block access to allegedly infringing material (or remove such material from their systems).
Making piracy painful for those companies that host the pirate web sites would go a long ways towards ending this blight on the internet also. By taking away the company's means of making a profit any time there is a complaint that is provable then those that support these pirate web sites would cease to operate outside the laws of their countries.
As of this writing I am in a constant battle with the thieves that post my copyrighted materials to pirate web sites. I do what I can to get them removed but as a small business owner I have to weigh the time I spend fighting outright theft against time working to make an income for my family. It is not time well spent but has to be done because each time someone downloads one of my products for 'free' I lose income, that is the loss of a potential buyer of my product.
It is too bad that the Governments of the world don't see this loss of income also, after all when we pay for a product we also pay taxes.
So STOP internet theft, contact you local Government and ask for harsher consequences for theft of intellectual property. Point out that the theft of that property is lost income for the local government. That may help us all to make a living!
But on the internet thieves thrive! It is 'cool' to take someone else's property and then give it away to as many people they can.
The main problem is the 'freedom' of the internet. It is in every country, almost every village, town, and most certainly every city. This 'freedom' is viewed in different ways by different cultures but most view theft as major crime and in some the consequences are very deadly. Then why do we condone it on the internet?
It starts with the original person that 'posts' it on the internet some where, a newsgroup, a bulletin board, a web site, or a blog. That is the original thief, they may have bought it, or they may have stolen it. Some of the more 'relevant' groups ask for store clerks to steal new programs as soon as they are stocked on the shelves. For a while there were 'leaks' of new programs from the larger software companies but that has been stopped. Once they have a fresh copy of the program they then go to work breaking the publishers' security.
Once the programs has been 'cracked' the thieves send it out to 'courier' groups that post or upload the program on the internet. The internet is the vehicle of choice, there are few select 'clubs' that if a person is serious enough they can 'join for a fee' and get all the pirated software they want.
Counter fitting is big business in some countries, professional 'hackers' circumvent the publishers locks and encryption then either sale the end product at a cheaper price or just give it away.
How to combat this blatant theft? It is not easy. The main reason it is hard to combat the theft is that some countries derive income from the counter fitting. Another reason is that some countries can not afford the cost of policing the internet.
On October 28, 1998 a law was enacted in the US of A called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, DMCA law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Most countries agreed to enforce the treaties incorporated in to the DMCA and be came signatories of the Act. But the countries that did not sign on to the Act are the main problem. These countries are havens for the thieves. At this time one of the biggest pirate operations is in court fighting against the Act as unconstitutional in their country. They may win the case, their country is not a signatory to the Act.
However in the larger scheme of things they are small fish compared to one country that has an industry setup to counter fit not only software but all media. They are not signatories to the ACT.
Unless all countries are forced to sign on to the DCMA and enforce it the only thing a publisher can do is to 'ask politely' that the counter fit software be removed from a hosting server. There are no consequences to the pirates, or the hosting company, they just move on to the next internet host that will allow them to upload their stolen products.
Some publishers do have the money and the legal staff to fight piracy but they are few and only take on cases they can win. Can one blame them? Who can fight a country that not only endorses but encourages counterfiting? Only if the international community steps up and says 'This is wrong! The penalty for piracy will be time in prison for a length of time.' And enforce the law, no deals, no special considerations! This will help to put a stop to this blatant theft, it may not stop it but it will make it painful if the thief is caught.
This is the main problem with the Act:
DMCA Title II, the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act ("OCILLA"), creates a safe harbor for online service providers (OSPs, including ISPs) against copyright liability if they adhere to and qualify for certain prescribed safe harbor guidelines and promptly block access to allegedly infringing material (or remove such material from their systems).
Making piracy painful for those companies that host the pirate web sites would go a long ways towards ending this blight on the internet also. By taking away the company's means of making a profit any time there is a complaint that is provable then those that support these pirate web sites would cease to operate outside the laws of their countries.
As of this writing I am in a constant battle with the thieves that post my copyrighted materials to pirate web sites. I do what I can to get them removed but as a small business owner I have to weigh the time I spend fighting outright theft against time working to make an income for my family. It is not time well spent but has to be done because each time someone downloads one of my products for 'free' I lose income, that is the loss of a potential buyer of my product.
It is too bad that the Governments of the world don't see this loss of income also, after all when we pay for a product we also pay taxes.
So STOP internet theft, contact you local Government and ask for harsher consequences for theft of intellectual property. Point out that the theft of that property is lost income for the local government. That may help us all to make a living!
Monte Russell is a 20 plus year computer technician has three web sites that he enjoys working on, see http://www.diy-computer-repair.com/ for the five eBooks, numerous eCourses, Q and A Hardware forum, and the monthly newsletter that is always intriguing, full of insights about computing.
One of his best selling eBooks http://www.diy-computer-repair.com/ebsp-1.html
One of his best selling eBooks http://www.diy-computer-repair.com/ebsp-1.html
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