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From: frankd@pro-pac.cts.com (Mike Snook)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Software Sales Strategies vs. Piracy
Message-ID: <208@crash.cts.com>
Date: 16 Aug 89 18:36:05 GMT
Sender: root@crash.cts.com
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It's a shame that developers don't get their fair rewards for their time and
money.  I want my software written by professionals, which means they have to
be able to make a living at it.  Too many people are pirating software.
  It's also a shame that you can't change human nature.  If you offer most
people a chance to steal something at virtually no risk of getting caught,
they'll find some way to see it as "not stealing".  The HonorWare market will
never catch up with the Pirate market because of human nature.
  Hollywood knows they can't stop people from making pirate copies of their
movies, too.  there are differences in the analogy, a Big Screen presentation
can't be matched by anything in the home, a copied tape isn't as good as the
original, neither of these things are true of pirated software, but my point
is that movies get pirated anyway and Hollywood, instead of playing on
peoples' "Honor" to pay for shareware, or asking their producers to make
public domain movies, has implemented marketing strategies that give them a
piece of the action.
  Hollywood makes big bucks farming their movies out to HBO, Cinemax, etc.,
not to mention the video rental stores.  They know darn well that most folks
are going to make illegal copies of movies from these sources but they get
what they can out of it.  I'm sure they'd love it if people would pay $79.95
for every movie they
'd like to own.  They know they can't, so they take what they can get.
  Why don't software developers adopt a similar strategy by selling programs
to stores that will rent them out for a fraction of their purchase price, and
take a royalty from every rental?  Developers would make more money (possibly,
I haven't the time to make a federal study of it) and the general population
has an opportunity to obtain software WITH the manuals.  There will of course
always be that elite group who will have no less than the original with the
original packaging either because of elitism or natural honesty.

strictly opinion, strictly mine, go ahead and sue me I have no Money.