Computer Software Theft

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VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with
EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Computer programs are the
written materials that permit a computer to do useful work. Today,
we tell what is being done about people who illegally copy, sell or
steal thousands of millions of dollars of computer programs.

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VOICE ONE:

A court in Richmond, Virginia recently found a man guilty of
illegally copying and selling computer software. The software was
the product of the Microsoft Corporation. He was sentenced to almost
six years in prison. He also will have to pay almost two million
dollars to Microsoft Corporation for stealing its computer software.

Recently a citizen of China was about to fly home from the United
States. As he waited to enter the airplane, agents of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation arrested him for stealing computer software.
He has confessed to the crime in court and told the judge he was
guilty of software theft. He could face as many as four years in
prison and be forced to pay a fine of two hundred fifty thousand
dollars.

These are only two examples of several hundred trials or charges
against people who have been caught copying and stealing computer
software. Police agencies around the world are working to stop
computer software theft.

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VOICE TWO:

The modern computer has changed the way the world communicates,
the way business is done and the way many people work and live. A
computer needs written material called software to be able to do
anything. Entering the written material into the computer causes the
machine to operate. Without software, a computer is nothing more
than glass, wire and plastic.

Few people would think of stealing a costly computer from a
store. They know that theft is a crime. However, many people think
it is all right to buy a computer program from a person they know is
making illegal copies. Or they will take a computer program they
bought legally and make an illegal copy of it for a friend.

For some reason, many people do not consider the theft of
computer software a crime. They are wrong. The crime of copying,
selling or stealing computer software can send a person to jail or
cost them a great deal of money, or both.

People steal every kind of software program -- from games that do
not cost much to very costly complex business programs. Almost every
company that produces software has been the victim of such theft.

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VOICE ONE:

The Business Software Alliance is a group that fights the crime
of software theft. Each year, it publishes a report for computer
companies that are members of the Alliance. The report attempts to
show how much money computer companies have lost in the past year
because of software theft.

In two thousand-three, the Software Alliance worked with the
International Data Corporation to write the report. IDC studied
computer software use in eighty-six countries. The report showed
that computer users around the world spent more than fifty thousand
million dollars on legally bought computer software. Yet computer
software worth almost eighty thousand million dollars was placed or
installed on computers during the same period of time.

The report says the legal sale of computer software should
increase from fifty thousand million dollars to seventy thousand
million dollars in the next five years. At the same time, the report
said that more than forty thousand million dollars worth of computer
software will be copied, sold illegally, or stolen.

The report says the industry loss is partly the result of people
making illegal copies of computer programs and games. A major loss
results from large and small businesses making and selling thousands
of illegally copied software programs.

VOICE TWO:

The computer itself aids in the problem of software theft. Almost
anyone can make an illegal copy of a computer program in a few
seconds. This copying is done in homes, schools, businesses and even
governments.

The Business Software Alliance says theft from a software company
decreases the amount of money the company has for research and
development of new products. That means computer users have fewer
programs that are useful for work or play.

VOICE ONE:

Governments around the world have approved new and stronger laws
against the theft of computer software. Laws in the United States
call for severe punishment for people found guilty of computer
software theft. Sentences can include many years in jail and the
guilty person can be forced to pay large amounts of money.

One crime is called copyright infringement. A copyright is the
legal protection a person receives from the government for a work or
product that he or she has created. A copyright makes it illegal for
anyone to copy or reproduce the work of another person or company.

Copyright infringement is a federal crime. A person found guilty
could be sentenced to as many as five years in federal prison and be
made to pay as much as two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

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The Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest and best-known
computer companies in the world. Microsoft was one of the first
companies to begin developing and selling software products.

Bill Gates is the head of Microsoft Corporation. He started the
company in nineteen seventy-five. One year later, Mister Gates
learned that people were already making illegal copies of the
products of his small company.

Mister Gates published a letter to computer users. In it, he
accused many of stealing software. He said he could not understand
why all computer users would pay for a computer but steal the
software.

VOICE ONE:

Microsoft was one of the companies that helped form the Business
Software Alliance in an effort to fight software theft around the
world.

Microsoft Corporation says people make illegal copies of software
or buy illegal copies in an effort to save money. The company says
they are wrong.

Microsoft says an illegal software program does not have the
support of the company that makes the real product. Microsoft says
many illegal copies are of very poor quality. Some are so poor they
can damage the computer that they are used on.

The illegal copies sometimes cannot do all the useful work that
the legal product can do. Often illegal copies do not have the
written instructions the company includes with its products. This
makes it difficult to get the program to work correctly.

Microsoft also says that a software company usually releases
major changes to a program from time to time to make it better and
more useful. Computer users with illegal copies do not receive such
improvements.

VOICE TWO:

Microsoft Corporation and the Software Alliance work with law
enforcement agencies around the world. They work to find people who
steal software products and then the law enforcement agencies bring
charges against them. The companies also work with local law
enforcement agencies and court systems in an effort to help them
learn how to deal with this crime.

The United States government is very active in fighting software
theft. "Operation Buccaneer" is an international program that
investigates and fights copyright theft. "Operation Buccaneer"
continually investigates the theft of computer software, movies,
games and music.

Its major aim is to find those criminals that use the Internet to
send, receive or sell stolen material. One investigation involved
criminals in the United States, Russia, Israel, Brazil and several
countries in Western Europe. One of the members of this group was
arrested in the United States.

He will soon stand trial for violating federal criminal copyright
laws and for having stolen property in his possession. If found
guilty, he could face as many as ten years in jail and be made to
pay two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

The Business Software Alliance says methods of investigating
software thefts are improving. Many countries around the world now
recognize the harm done by software theft and are joining the effort
to stop it. The Alliance says more and more software thieves are
caught and severely punished every year.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by
Mario Ritter. This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another
EXPLORATIONS program in VOA Special English.