Software Piracy

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Software Piracy

Software piracy is the copying and reselling of software without the consent of the software creator. It is the copying and reuse of software by large corporations. It is copying software and distributing it on the Web.

A country with maybe the biggest software piracy problem is China. In 1994, software piracy was 97% in China.1 In 1999 the rate was still 91%. 2 Software piracy is a huge problem in China. Only Vietnam has a higher piracy rate than China.

Stopping the software piracy problem in China will be very difficult. Software piracy is embedded in China’s culture. China has long accepted the teachings of Confucianism and the idea of sharing creative works and ideas. 3 In China copying is not perceived as an inferior imitation as it is in the West. 4 The notion of sharing is also very important in China’s culture. Sharing creative works has been mandated for forty years in China. Putting a stop to this type of sharing would go against years of accepted beliefs. 5 There is also a lack of education about software piracy. The educational system in China emphasizes copying old works more than creating new works. Many in China may not even be aware that software piracy is illegal. Remember the population in China is 1.2 billion. Educating every member of the country is a difficult task. 6 When we try to stop software piracy in China, we are fighting an uphill battle.

So what must be done about the piracy problem in China? The responsibility lies with China’s government. The government must educate the public more about piracy. They must inform the public that piracy is wrong. The government should be forced to provide information about companies that violated the piracy laws and were punished. 7 C...

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...in.tech.yahoo.com/020709/64/1rjl8.html, p.1

21. Sara Baase, A Gift of Fire, Pearson Education, Inc., 2003, p.250.

22. Sara Baase, A Gift of Fire, Pearson Education, Inc., 2003, p.250.

Bibliography

1. China, http://www.iipa.com/rbc/1998/rbc_china_301_98.html

2. Software Piracy: Understanding the Larger Picture, July 21, 2003,

http://www.express-computer.com/20030721/indtrend1.shtml

3.Information Technology in P.R. China Legal Environment, http://www.american.edu/carmel/sl0376a/legal.htm

4. 2002, http://www.nasscom.org/articleprint.asp?art_id=1964

5. India Needs Stronger Policing to Combat Piracy, July 9, 2003, http://in.tech.yahoo.com/020709/64/1rjl8.html

6. India’s Software Industry Launches Battle Against Piracy, April 26, 2003, http://in.news.yahoo.com/010426/6/t1i7.html

7. Sara Baase, A Gift of Fire, Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.

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