Turning Chinese Piracy Into Revenue

itwbennett writes "Weak penalties and a lack of enforcement have made China a hotspot for software piracy, but it is possible to turn some pirated software into sales, says Vic DeMarines, vice president of products for V.i. Labs, a company that helps makers of engineering and design software track the unlicensed use of their products. Forty of V.i. Labs' clients use code to track when an installed application shows signs it's a pirated copy. The data collected makes a record of what organizations in China are using unlicensed copies across how many different PCs. They can then use the data to reach out to those organizations, who might not be aware they are using unlicensed software. 'We think that's a better way to reduce piracy overall,' says DeMarines. 'You need to target the organizations that should have the ability to pay license versus going after individual users or the people who crack the software.'"

Comments

"Reach Out"

[CSFFlame]

Like the BSA?

Re:"Reach Out"

[LordLucless]

BSA is a good organization.

So's your local mafia strong man.

Many of the victims of the BSA aren't people who maliciously copied software - they're people who paid for it, then lost the docket. Seriously, look up the requirements the BSA have for your software to be deemed "legitimate".

Re:"Reach Out"

[LordLucless]

Change of tune much? Firstly you said that the BSA are the good guys because they only go after nasty, evil pirating companies. Now you say that they're the good guys because they only go after the nasty, evil not-conforming-to-EULA companies.

Sorry, no. BSA are an extortion racket, and EULAs are the tools they use to squeeze unearned money from their marks. They are in no way, shape or form "good guys".

Re:"Reach Out"

[Anonymous Coward]

And hope to hell that nobody has installed anything on their systems.

Now try doing that in a small business, especially an IT-related small business. Good fucking luck.

The BSA should be driven from the land, their offices razed, the ruins burned, the very earth salted; their children cursed, their souls damned, their ill-gotten gold melted and poured down their throats.

Re:This makes a ton of sense

[mangu]

There would still be plenty of incentive to create for artists

Artists already have plenty of incentive to create, the do what they love to do and, if they are good, they can earn a comfortable income from live performances.

The big mistake is assuming that every artist deserve to become a millionaire. Let them earn their daily bread from their daily work, like everybody else.

Tracking code?

[TubeSteak]

My programs should only be talking to the internet when I ask them to.
I block software that phones home at the router.

Re:Its China.

[rubycodez]

we're not talking of stealing, merely making copies of information. That's "copyright infringement", if you happen to live in a place that believes in it. Historically, the notion would be considered absurd until very recently in history.