Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga:26323 comp.misc:4339 Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!fluke!kurt From: kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt Guntheroth) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.misc Subject: Re: Software Development And Piracy (Spurred By FTL replies) Message-ID: <6268@fluke.COM> Date: 9 Dec 88 21:17:08 GMT References: <555@icus.islp.ny.us> <2363@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <1334@leah.Albany.Edu> Sender: news@tc.fluke.COM Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA Lines: 14 I wonder why companies don't offer cash rewards for "information leading to the arrest and conviction" of software pirates. Just imagine if pirates had to keep their hoards secret because of a substantial cash incentive for their friends to rat on them. Don't think it would happen? How many scruples can a software pirate have? The minimum charge would be something like recipt of stolen goods. If copying could be proved, the copyright laws enable fines up to $10K per occurrance. Make the rewards and penalties significant, and you'd find password hackers invading each other's secret pirate bulletin boards like rival gangs shooting it out. With pirating driven deep underground, the options for honest citizens would be clearer. Break the law and actually risk conviction, pay the price and use the product, or do without. Nahh. I must have missed something. This looks too easy.