About software piracy

[Liraco]

What if, like in my field of work,which is high-end 3d animation where the only people who can afford the softwares are either business studios or educational schools, so most of the students or independent animation professionals who are still learning the program and can’t afford to buy them , usually resort to downloading cracked versions of the software, not for commercial use but for personal learning at home., with the intention of finding gainful employment with the use of the software. It’s a common practice , that it’s almost taken for granted, and an unspoken understanding of the situation.

Each software can costs up to 4000+ USD. In the country where I came from , people never give this much thought , whether it’s right or wrong. Justifying it that it’s not for commercial use , but for learning purposes only. Even those in the US and fellow professionals have a cracked copy, so they can use it to create their demo reels to find employment later. I have been struggling with this issue, and I feel the use of this is justified as it is out of necessity, even practicality. I have yet to meet a fellow professional in my field who have a legal copy of the software.

Is there an exception to this, especially if you’re in a country where it is a common practice? It’s almost self-defeating to do otherwise. Please consider that I have no intention of sinning, but am having a moral dilemma. Any helpful comment is appreciated.

You don’t want to do what’s wrong but you feel like you have to do it anyway though a voice in the back of your head says it isn’t right. Exactly what I was struggling with, which is why right now I’m saving up hardcore to buy one of the Adobe Creative Suites which also cost a pretty penny. I’m doing just fine with open source software at the moment but certainly do appreciate the Adobe software even more now.

As was said though, just cuz it’s the norm doesn’t make it right. If everyone you knew had killed a man, would that make it ok for you to do the same? People are ok with the killing of babies, pushing religion further from the public eye, and teaching that sex is everything. Does that make them right because they’re the “majority”? Of course not!

As a priest very rightly pointed out to me… is a piece of software worth the weight on your soul? Is it important enough to risk damnation? Do you need it to the point of having to sin for it? “But it’s just a piece of software!” Of course it is, but your ACT is “just” mortal sin.

Remember that while “nice guys finish last”, Jesus said “the last will be first, and the first will be last.” - Matthew 20:16

A final word of advice, a lot of high end 3D software like Maya, Cinema 4D, etc. offer trial versions. I’m personally beginning to learn Blender which can make some awesome renders and it’s pretty similar to Maya in many respects save for the interface and shortcut changes. Want to see it flexing it’s 3D muscle?
Just look at this: sanderwit.deviantart.com/art/Up-and-Down-29143543
and this: kryan45.deviantart.com/art/Undiscovered-Paradise-119534418
oh, and this: xelptic.deviantart.com/art/room15-110033996

You can try those but if you want the fuller version then do as Spirithound said and request from your school to give you a copy or to help you obtain one of their MUCH cheaper learning editions. Just remember to do what’s right. What country are you in? Maybe we can find something to help.

Here in Mexico, piracy is such a “norm” that people think I’m CRAZY for not using pirated software. But ask me how I feel every time I boot up my computer and use nothing but legit programs: AWESOME. Not a single program on my conscience or soul weighing me down.

SOFTWARE ALTERNATIVES:
Photo editing: The Gimp gimp.org/
Vectors: Inkscape inkscape.org/
3D: Blender blender.org/

For any people in the US interested, here’s a link that might help them find student versions: studica.com/Autodesk/

 

[Liraco]

If I watch this movie, will I be sinning, even if I wasn’t the one who copied this movie? How about all the PDF files that is passed around the industry also as reference materials. Is having copies of such also means I’ve stolen them too?:manvspc:

Please read this first jimmyakin.org/2009/06/workplace-scruples.html

I think that watching it wouldn’t be wrong especially if your employers require you to see it for you to do your work. You say they give you a copy, I’m assuming that you don’t watch it at work but are asked to view it on your own free time? Just don’t go passing this on to anyone else.

 

[joscat08]

Hi Liraco,

Here in Mexico, piracy is such a “norm” that people think I’m CRAZY for not using pirated software. But ask me how I feel every time I boot up my computer and use nothing but legit programs: AWESOME. Not a single program on my conscience or soul weighing me down.

Thanks for your post. I’m inspired by your example. I’ve actually spent the last weekend just uninstalling all of the cracked softwares in my computer and deleting all other mp3’s and movies from my PC. I’ve instead just installed a Personal Learning Edition of an old Maya that was available from Alias’ website before… There’s a watermark on the viewport, it also saves as a different file type than what’s in the licensed versions, and most of the latest cool rigs that’s available free online won’t work in it, but at least, I’ll have peace of mind and clear conscience.:angel1:

What country are you in?

I’m now working in New Zealand , but I’m originally from the Philippines.

A final word of advice, a lot of high end 3D software like Maya, Cinema 4D, etc. offer trial versions. I’m personally beginning to learn Blender which can make some awesome renders and it’s pretty similar to Maya in many respects save for the interface and shortcut changes. Want to see it flexing it’s 3D muscle?
Just look at this: sanderwit.deviantart.com/art/…-Down-29143543
and this: kryan45.deviantart.com/art/Un…dise-119534418
oh, and this: xelptic.deviantart.com/art/room15-110033996

Please read this first jimmyakin.org/2009/06/wor…-scruples.html

Thanks for all the links. I’ll check them all out. :thankyou:

 

[Liraco]

Odd, seems like the links got screwed up. Here they go again:

Jimmy Akin’s blog

Two of those screenshot examples of Blender:
Artsy landscape
Pretty room

And here’s a link to two videos and a game made using Blender:
Blender projects

I’m not happy that they discontinued their personal learning edition but it’s not surprising if you look at Autodesk’s greed. Now they own THREE of the biggest 3D software packages (3D Max, Maya, and now Softimage XSI!) Insane…

Hope some of this helped! God bless.

 

[Wesley7]

Software piracy is illegal. Basically, if people make quality programs and software they want you to pay top dollar for it.

 

[chaz0426]

It is not theft because you are not taking something away, but it is still a violation of secular law, a secular law that is not against Natural Law. From my point of view a copyright violation is the equivalent on not paying a just wage to a worker and that is even worst than theft.

Just wage? Some if not most software is ridiculously over priced more than their value. It doesn’t justify piracy but it also doesn’t justify the high prices of the software. I did a little research digging and many of these companies charge so high to make 100% or even higher of profit. Talk about greed or just a bad business plan, anything over 75% profit is high in my opinion while over 100% is just wrong. The law isn’t always right either. We are called to follow the law as Christians but we are not called to acknowledge and proclaim the law as always being right.

Copyright specifically is a hot issue right now mostly a handful of corporations I won’t mention and for many stupid reasons. I won’t go into that debate. If you can honestly prove or if you feel in anyway that someone is suffering or losing significant salary by sharing a specific file then obviously it is a grave sin and is equal to stealing. It is not stealing but equal to it. The interesting part though is I find very little evidence when I looked for articles and research for hours on the web for part of a report and I couldn’t find any source that claimed huge devastating losses due to file sharing. Not being able to give a few extra million$ in CEO bonuses doesn’t count either.

I’m not supporting piracy but I’m just saying it’s a very grey area and depending on your intentions and what it is and what company and who it is affecting ect. For example I don’t think Microsoft will go bankrupt if you share a copy of your OS with a family member. It’s against copyright law but it’s your family! Your not selling it for a profit on the black market, that would be piracy 100%. I don’t think downloading said software to “try out” isn’t sinful if you intend to buy it when you can afford it. Most software offer free trials themselves but shutdown like half of the functions of the software so you don’t get to “try it out” but only look at it. Some software doesn’t and is fully operable.

I’ve been screwed over by Windows many times after legally buying their products full price which can be 100’s of bucks. To a teenager with a summer job that is a lot of money! I often upgrade my computer (I have several) frequently and changing the hardware will render your software key unusable. One time I couldn’t use Microsoft office because of that situation and I needed access to it to do work. I called the number to “activate” it over the phone and tell them I bought a new laptop and my old one is broken and unusable. The number wasn’t available believe it or not and I needed to do something. That’s when file sharing can be helpful in times like that. It really becomes almost ridiculous when people legally buy things and suffer stuff like that. It’s almost asking for your product to be heavily pirated. Somehow though Microsoft is still racking in 3 times more revenue than Google. (around $80billion). That won’t be the case for long if they keep up those tatics. Google is coming out with a free operating system in a few years get that!

Obviously many businesses can offer free software and thrive and grow as a result, it’s not complicated economics either. Some businesses just refuse to change their model.

Eventually digital content will be uncontrollably copyable so I see in the next 10 years copyright laws going through a radical revision or a major political firestorm debate ensuing eventually.

 

[chaz0426]

Software piracy is grave matter. If the other two conditions are also met (sufficient reflection & full consent of the will), it is mortal and must be confessed. (Also consider that if you confessed something that was not actually a sin, Father probably would have said something to you along those lines!) And yes, firm purpose of amendment is required to be validly absolved.

Software piracy is theft, plain and simple, and most new software these days easily sells for $50 or more per individual license. It seems a little silly/borderline scrupulous to assign a dollar value to what is or isn’t “grave” by way of theft, but I have read elsewhere (can’t remember link, sorry) that 50 dollars is usually considered serious and that seems a pretty sensible rule of thumb for our times. 50 bucks ain’t chump change for the average, middle class person and is certainly a dent in the income of the people who work so hard to create these programs for our use. And that, of course, is assuming the illegal download/use of just ONE game off the internet. Imagine the harm caused if you also do things like “share” software illegally with others, which they may in turn “share” with their friends, and on it goes.

And the old argument “well, I never would have bought it in the store, so they didn’t really lose anything” is just hogwash, before anyone even thinks of it! The fact is that their product was used/enjoyed without just compensation in direct violation of the law (breaking just laws is a sin in and of itself, and receiving wages for one’s work is not in any way considered unjust by the Catholic Church!) That fact is undiminished by whether you would have bought it if you were living more honestly.

There really isn’t any excuse to pirate software. If you can’t afford it, then you don’t have to use it. There are shareware/freeware options for many practical applications these days (such as anti-virus programs, etc) and games are hardly necessary to one’s existence or of superior importance to the welfare of your immortal soul. Not to be melodramatic, but that is what it comes down to. No software exists that is more important than your soul. God bless you!

Sometimes you do have to use it, and I rarely come across software that is $50 dollars and is heavily used unless it is DVD or simple photo software. Microsoft Office which is a must for me and many people sells for close to $300 for a “standard” version! It use to be only for one copy! I have a desktop and a laptop I’m not paying $700 bucks just to put it on two computers! I believe they eased on that due to scrutiny and offer 3 installs. If my school didn’t offer a discount I couldn’t afford that but I still need it!

While receiving wages for ones work isn’t wrong in the church, expecting overly unjustified high wages that doesn’t match the quality of your work/product is in my opinion wrong. Yes if you dont’ need it don’t buy it but sometimes you do need it because it’s used by everyone and everywhere and your work depends on it! cough Microsoft.

 

[chaz0426]

Hi Liraco,

Thanks for your post. I’m inspired by your example. I’ve actually spent the last weekend just uninstalling all of the cracked softwares in my computer and deleting all other mp3’s and movies from my PC. I’ve instead just installed a Personal Learning Edition of an old Maya that was available from Alias’ website before… There’s a watermark on the viewport, it also saves as a different file type than what’s in the licensed versions, and most of the latest cool rigs that’s available free online won’t work in it, but at least, I’ll have peace of mind and clear conscience.:angel1:

I’m now working in New Zealand , but I’m originally from the Philippines.

Thanks for all the links. I’ll check them all out. :thankyou:

Congrats just make sure it doesn’t break the bank. Many of us can’t afford it but our jobs depend on it and we need to do some work at home (especially IT people and students like myself). If you can afford it and can buy it then there’s no reason to pirate it and no fuss to deal with either. Unfortunately many people are not able to afford it.

 

[Melissa]

SMicrosoft Office which is a must for me and many people sells for close to $300 for a “standard” version! It use to be only for one copy! I have a desktop and a laptop I’m not paying $700 bucks just to put it on two computers! I believe they eased on that due to scrutiny and offer 3 installs. If my school didn’t offer a discount I couldn’t afford that but I still need it!

That’s what I like about OpenOffice–it does everything M$ Office does, and you can save as the M$ type files if necessary. But OpenOffice is open source freeware. (I also think it works MUCH better than the M$ Office.)

 

[Liraco]

Congrats just make sure it doesn’t break the bank. Many of us can’t afford it but our jobs depend on it and we need to do some work at home (especially IT people and students like myself). If you can afford it and can buy it then there’s no reason to pirate it and no fuss to deal with either. Unfortunately many people are not able to afford it.

That’s just the thing, rather than try to appease my conscience by justifying unpaid for software, I DON’T use those programs. As I said, I’m saving up so that I’ll eventually be able to afford and purchase said products that I need. So I’ll just work hard for anything I can’t afford until I can (or find an alternative). My job (Graphic Designer) certainly depends on a lot of software but I’m making use of what’s freely available and so far so good.

Speaking of Microsoft, here’s a free Office alternative that works quite well for anyone interested:
openoffice.org/

 

[joscat08]

Congrats just make sure it doesn’t break the bank. Many of us can’t afford it but our jobs depend on it and we need to do some work at home (especially IT people and students like myself). If you can afford it and can buy it then there’s no reason to pirate it and no fuss to deal with either. Unfortunately many people are not able to afford it

Actually, the Maya PLE (Personal Learning Edition) was free and offered for non-commercial use by Alias before, released for someone to wants to learn the program. It has limitations, and doesn’t saves in the file format as that of the licensed ones. It also has a big watermark of the Company’s name across the viewport (screen), so…

I didn’t have to buy it, I downloaded it from their website. I only had to register. I got this years ago, but was really annoyed with the watermark. But since I can’t afford the license, I quite happy now using this free version. Now, when I think about it, I really don’t need the full version, since I only do animation with it and not all the other stuffs.

 

[Spirithound]

Just wage? Some if not most software is ridiculously over priced more than their value. It doesn’t justify piracy but it also doesn’t justify the high prices of the software. I did a little research digging and many of these companies charge so high to make 100% or even higher of profit. Talk about greed or just a bad business plan, anything over 75% profit is high in my opinion while over 100% is just wrong. The law isn’t always right either.

How did you arrive at your conclusion that a 100% profit margin is just wrong? Can you put a price on the knowledge that is required to make this software? Apparently they can. Prices are dictated by market forces. If demand is high, prices raise. If demand is low, prices drop. If prices are high, the product must be in high demand, and you’ve been outvoted.

 

[Liraco]

How did you arrive at your conclusion that a 100% profit margin is just wrong? Can you put a price on the knowledge that is required to make this software? Apparently they can. Prices are dictated by market forces. If demand is high, prices raise. If demand is low, prices drop. If prices are high, the product must be in high demand, and you’ve been outvoted.

Very true. The of mindset “they’re not really missing out on much” along with “I’ll pay for it SOMEday” is what kept me justifying theft until I got the guts to call a spade a spade. I agree that if one finds things to be overpriced then one need only “vote”.

@joscat: Glad to hear you found a way. I remember having had that version long ago. I had tried it briefly but at that point got so overwhelmed and frustrated that I forgot and lost it. Doesn’t matter though cuz now I’m going to learn Blender, at least for some basic modeling and rendering which could be a big help for product mockups.

 

[chaz0426]

That’s what I like about OpenOffice–it does everything M$ Office does, and you can save as the M$ type files if necessary. But OpenOffice is open source freeware. (I also think it works MUCH better than the M$ Office.)

OpenOffice is as far as I know the best open source option / legally free option of Office software and is growing however it’s not “there” yet and may never be unless more people adopt open source alternatives and develop them. Google Docs is another popular option as well that may offer the best promise of being an optional norm to consider that is free and good for businesses and schools to use. That may be 5 or 10 years away though. I only hope and pray but by then I should be able to afford Microsoft’s products anyway if they are still around .

Unfortunately Microsoft Office still seems to be the standard in schools, businesses, ect. or at least 95% of everywhere I go. Usually colleges like mine will offer an affordable discount to students as myself who don’t work and have little money but need that software to do their work and that is a great option. However in such scenarios (popular with Microsoft) where their piracy curbing mechanisms backfire on legit users like that one time a few months ago and I can’t use such product because I upgraded my computer then I don’t think it’s sinful to fall back on a pirated copy to use temporarily. It’s a copy of the same product that you bought legitimately but a way to go around one of Microsoft’s mishaps.

I also think it’s morally right to share such software with your family. (Immediate family not everyone in your bloodline) and there’s nothing wrong installing it on more than one machine in the same household in my opinion. However I recently found out that Microsoft even has issues with that. If it was their way everyone (even children) would have to pay hundreds to use. It’s like buying a ticket to use a copy of such product who’s 1’s and 0’s are installed on your OWN physical machine that is your property, so in a sense you never “bought it” like you buy a car and can lend it to anyone at your will. Most things you buy a copy legally and it’s ours and under fair use laws you can let someone borrow (not copy) it or use it at your desire since it is YOUR copy.

However since digital media is so easy to replicate, the often most convienent way is to copy it to give it to someone event to borrow. The rightful thing to do would for the borrower to delete it once done and buy the product for themselves but that’s often not the case if it’ costs hundreds of bucks.

I thought it was always that way but I guess sometimes it’s not that way with some software and I just think that is a twisted scheme to pull in more money. I didn’t even know it worked like that until recently when doing more research and why I have sudden conflicting views on the latest copyright laws.

 

[chaz0426]

That’s just the thing, rather than try to appease my conscience by justifying unpaid for software, I DON’T use those programs. As I said, I’m saving up so that I’ll eventually be able to afford and purchase said products that I need. So I’ll just work hard for anything I can’t afford until I can (or find an alternative). My job (Graphic Designer) certainly depends on a lot of software but I’m making use of what’s freely available and so far so good.

Speaking of Microsoft, here’s a free Office alternative that works quite well for anyone interested:
openoffice.org/

That’s the morally right thing to do in such a scenario. But some cases like mine I need it right now and here to do such report, experiment, or exercise that can only be done on certain software. So if I temporarily use it like using a 30 day trial but on software that doesn’t offer one then I don’t think it’s wrong if you just need it for some tasks rather than buying the whole thing for 100’s of $$ if you won’t use it after that. Fortunately most expensive software offer free trials.

That’s why file sharing isn’t always a (always right always wrong kind of thing) It’s a grey area in morals that need to be considered per case in terms of sinning. In terms of laws there is no “grey” in laws it’s black and white. It’s legal or illegal, there’s no legal-illegal middle ground. Laws also change, what’s illegal today could be legal tomorrow and vice versa. Laws are also are not always in the interest of the common people but specific groups and usually such interests involve money.

Sins are not that way, it involves a lot more investigation and when you feel guilty or sorry that’s God’s way of telling you to assume the sin and confess.

 

[chaz0426]

How did you arrive at your conclusion that a 100% profit margin is just wrong? Can you put a price on the knowledge that is required to make this software? Apparently they can. Prices are dictated by market forces. If demand is high, prices raise. If demand is low, prices drop. If prices are high, the product must be in high demand, and you’ve been outvoted.

But there is a level ground where the price can remain “reasonable” and attractive to people and the business can still prosper and grow. Such business models that can meet that is the best way to curb piracy because you win the incentive of the people to buy the real thing legally. Money isn’t suppose to be a barrier to your product, if it is to many people then something is wrong or you went about expenditures and labor to produce such product in a wrong way. Work smarter not harder. If a business finds their product is being heavily pirated, it says two things. 1 your product is in high demand and 2 there is something wrong with the pricing.

I’m pretty certain that if Microsoft lowered their prices even 20 or 25% on their products in most demand, more people would just buy it from them and less would acquire it illegally.

Unfortunately many businesses (although the number is decreasing) still have the mindset and business model of “what ever pulls in the most possible revenue” as the main end not considering the mind of their consumers. So they jack the prices to the max of what people are willing to pay. Monopolies like Microsoft could do that because there was no other alternative for years until recently. People had no other choice but to pay those prices.

Microsoft is seeing that repercussion catch up to them currently. If they don’t change their mindset and turn it around they will inevitably sink as a business.

I just notice that the only corporations and businesses that strongly enforce copyright laws are those with such mindsets.

I don’t see google creating a fuss. Somehow they can make their products so affordable (free) and still grow exponentially.

I actually see 95% of artists in favor of distributing their music as it seems to help them sell more. It’s free advertising for them.

Ironically it’s been said piracy is part of the reason Microsoft is where they are is because piracy freely distributed their products (free advertising) around the globe even from way back in the 80’s and now everyone uses them.

 

[Spirithound]

But there is a level ground where the price can remain “reasonable” and attractive to people and the business can still prosper and grow. Such business models that can meet that is the best way to curb piracy because you win the incentive of the people to buy the real thing legally. Money isn’t suppose to be a barrier to your product, if it is to many people then something is wrong or you went about expenditures and labor to produce such product in a wrong way. Work smarter not harder. If a business finds their product is being heavily pirated, it says two things. 1 your product is in high demand and 2 there is something wrong with the pricing.

I like this business model you’ve explained, and I also would love to see “reasonable” and attractive prices, but I see no moral imperative for these companies to adopt this model. If their prices are at a particular level, then money must not be a barrier to that product, in their opinion, for an acceptable number of people.

I’m pretty certain that if Microsoft lowered their prices even 20 or 25% on their products in most demand, more people would just buy it from them and less would acquire it illegally.

Unfortunately many businesses (although the number is decreasing) still have the mindset and business model of “what ever pulls in the most possible revenue” as the main end not considering the mind of their consumers. So they jack the prices to the max of what people are willing to pay. Monopolies like Microsoft could do that because there was no other alternative for years until recently. People had no other choice but to pay those prices.

This part I don’t understand though. Piracy deprives the company of $50, $100, $4000 at a time, right? Are the companies making all that back with the copies that they are selling, and would their revenue be greater if they lowered their prices, enticing more people to buy it?

Microsoft is seeing that repercussion catch up to them currently. If they don’t change their mindset and turn it around they will inevitably sink as a business.

I just notice that the only corporations and businesses that strongly enforce copyright laws are those with such mindsets.

I don’t see google creating a fuss. Somehow they can make their products so affordable (free) and still grow exponentially.

I actually see 95% of artists in favor of distributing their music as it seems to help them sell more. It’s free advertising for them.

Ironically it’s been said piracy is part of the reason Microsoft is where they are is because piracy freely distributed their products (free advertising) around the globe even from way back in the 80’s and now everyone uses them.

I also want to say, we’re not talking about apples and oranges here. Literally. We’re talking about entertainment, and moreover, a kind of entertainment that didn’t exist 30-40 years ago. If you don’t like MSOffice, use the open-source clone. If you don’t want to shell out for a computer game, or a movie, or a CD, go read a book. Or post on CAF.

 

[tjm190]

tricky question- although you’re receiving something without paying for it, what you are stealing has receiving has no actual value given that it has an infinite supply

 

[Liraco]

tricky question- although you’re receiving something without paying for it, what you are stealing has receiving has no actual value given that it has an infinite supply

Exactly the danger of pirated software because the lack of any physical substance makes many think that it’s ok because they’re just copying data and not actually taking something physical like a CD from a store. This makes software piracy and program copying seem nothing like actual theft.

 

[tjm190]

Exactly the danger of pirated software because the lack of any physical substance makes many think that it’s ok because they’re just copying data and not actually taking something physical like a CD from a store. This makes software piracy and program copying seem nothing like actual theft.

Well that’s because traditional theft necessitates a loss on the part of the person being stolen from. However, making an exact copy of the work of someone else does not remove any actual property from their person. Morally gray at best.
Since I know this is going to come up, no I don’t illegally download music, movies, or anything else.