Excerpts from article by: Sally Bowman Alden, Executive Director
Computer Learning Foundation

Until the inventions of the tape recorder and the copy machine, society never had to deal with this issue. The definition of stealing was based on the physical presence or absence of an item. The person who stole the item had it, and the person who owned it did not.

With new technologies that enable individuals to quickly and economically make copies of audio tapes, videotapes and computer programs, the concept of stealing has been redefined -- it is stealing if someone makes a copy of something he/she does not own or have permission to copy from the person who created the item (i.e., the company or individual who created the program), even if the owner still has the original item. While a software program is being stolen through an individual who owns a copy of the program, in fact, the program is being stolen from the individual(s) who created it and sells it for a living. Companies pay people's salaries and pay people for the hundreds of hours they spend making each software program available.

So, respect these people's rights for payment for their work and only use software programs that have been paid for.

Misperception: Software programs are too expensive to buy and companies are making too much money on each program they sell.

Good software programs cost a lot of money to write -- from $50,000 to several million dollars, depending on the complexity. In addition, companies have substantial costs in making these products available to you. It costs a lot of money just to let you know a new product exists (in advertising costs). It also costs a lot of money to get the product to you. Dealers and distributors of software programs help to make you aware of new products, get these products to you and help you to use these products, and they need to be paid for their services to you, too. It costs a lot of money to provide you with help when you need it, whether it is information about the product before you buy it, help in using the product after you buy it or updates of the product so you can take advantage of technological changes in your computer.

Any time someone uses a copy of a program he/she did not pay for, he/she has stolen from and hurt hundreds of people, not just one person. In the long run, this results in less programs being available to you, as companies go out of business or refuse to write new programs.

So, respect all of these people's rights to be paid for the services they provide you and only use software programs that have been paid for.

Many companies use complex copy-protection methods on their software to protect their right to be paid for their products. Other companies have stopped using copy-protection to provide better service to those who pay for these products. Copy-protection can interfere with the use of the program and makes installation on hard disk drives difficult. In addition, when you buy a product, you want to be able to use it and not have to wait for a replacement copy if anything happens to the original. This is particularly critical for businesses that are dependent on being able to access their financial data. It is also critical in a classroom where a teacher has designed an instructional unit around a specific software program.

No other industry has been so sensitive to your needs as software companies have been. Does a home electronics or typewriter company provide you with an extra product in case your original one breaks down? Do they allow you to replace your original at a nominal cost if you damage the original product? When your favorite record album gets a scratch on it or wears out because you play it every day, does the record company allow you to exchange it for a nominal price or do they make you buy it again for the full retail price?

So, when a company doesn't copy-protect their software, realize that this is a service to you. Respect their rights and only make a backup copy for your use should you damage the original program.

This statement is true, as long as you only install and/or use the original program on one computer at a time. However, if you use the program on a network that makes the program available to more than one user, this is the equivalent of illegally copying the program, regardless of whether others are using the software program at the same time or not. In addition, to go around a room and load a program into each computer with only one program disk (called "multiple loading") is also illegal copying of the program unless specifically allowed by the publisher of the program.

Most companies provide substantial discounts for network versions or multiple copies of a program to be used in a classroom environment (called "lab packs" which include multiple copies of the software program disk, but only one manual for the teacher).

So, respect the fact that these companies are making these special prices available to you and pay for the number of copies you need.

This statement is partially correct. Freeware is public domain software and may be copied and distributed to others for free.

Freeware and shareware are not the same, however. Shareware is an opportunity to try it before you buy it. If you try it, like it and use it, you must pay for it. Sometimes people confuse paying for the program with paying a distribution fee to receive the shareware initially (a nominal charge paid to whoever copies and labels the shareware disks or connect time paid to a telecommunications service to download the shareware program). These charges are not payment to the person who wrote the program. The author of the program only gets paid if you decide you like and use his/her program and pay him/her for it.

So, respect the fact that the software program author is allowing you to try the program and make sure you like it, and pay him/her for it if you use it.

As adults, we value our own privacy and therefore, we respect and teach our children to respect others' rights to privacy. We teach our children not to look in others' desks or wallets, not to open or read others' mail, not to enter others' homes without being invited, not to enter businesses when their doors are locked, not to go in offices that are not open to the public and not to betray confidences by telling others' secrets. The constraints we place on ourselves and teach our children have nothing to do with whether we can or cannot gain access; rather, we adopt these behaviors and teach them to our children out of respect for others' rights to privacy and confidentiality and our desire for privacy and confidentiality ourselves.

Electronic files, information, mail and telecommunications have not changed these critical rights. The rights are the same; it is the form and means of transmission of information that has changed. We must serve as models for our children by not reading their mail or files without their permission. We also need to teach them that breaking into an electronic file (such as on a bank's or phone company's computer) is no different than breaking the locks on their doors. It is still "breaking and entering" and any information obtained is stolen and a violation of individuals' rights to privacy and confidentiality.

We teach our children not to vandalize property or to tamper with or damage things that belong to others. We need to expand our definition of property to include things we cannot physically hold; i.e., to include electronic information, like data, files and software programs. Tampering with and changing electronic information is vandalism and disrespect for others' property.

This includes changing another child's report stored on a computer disk, modifying or erasing others' files and programs or transmitting programs that will change or erase others' files or information through telecommunications or on disks. We all read about computer "viruses" destroying individuals' and organizations' computer files. (Computer viruses are computer programs that cause damage in many ways; e.g., by erasing an entire hard disk drive or making some files or information unusable. Viruses are commonly transmitted to other computers through telecommunications and on program disks.)