RE: Where information comes from (OR Dishonest today, honest tomo rrow)

["Dugas, Andrew" <ADugas -at- eTranslate -dot- com>]

So far in these discussions of ethics, piracy, etc., no one has mentioned
the "Dishonest today, honest tomorrow" pattern typical for startups and
contractors. (No one I know or have ever worked for; this is just something
I've overheard while getting coffee down on the corner.)

Often it seems that a fledgling business or contractor will start out with
pirated copies of the applications she/he/it needs to get going. The idea is
to reduce startup costs, which for an individual could be prohibitive. Add
up the costs of Frame, RoboHelp, WebWorks, Photoshop, Illustrator, MS
Office, etc. Quite a bit of change.

Once success (or at least a steady clientele) seems assured and revenues are
coming in, the company or contractor seeks legitimacy by obtaining licensed
copies of the same applications. (To not do so would be an actual risk which
a successful company or contractor would be better off avoiding.)

In a sense, the software companies are taking a risk-free, if involuntary,
gamble with the "pirate." The pirate uses the software for free while
developing the business. If success is achieved, the software companies are
rewarded for their efforts when the pirate legitimately licenses the
software apps. If failure is the result, the pirate won't be using the
applications any more, and they are likely to merely sit idle and
increasingly obsolete on the pirate's hard drive. 

How do the ethicists sound off on this scenario? Is this ultimately good or
bad for the software companies' bottom lines? If they more rigorously fought
this type of piracy, would it hurt the bottom line?

Andy

PS: There's a cineplex in SF with over a dozen theatres. They generally turn
a blind eye to people sneaking into more than one movie per visit, at least
during the non-peak times. (Of course, they more carefully police sell-out
features.) I always thought the security was lax, but then I realized that
they made more money by encouraging this "piracy." The movie was showing
anyway, so their costs were the same whether you sat in the empty seat or
not. And, if you were spending four hours in their facility, you were more
likely to buy extra soda, popcorn, etc., which is where the real profit
margins lie. 

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