Is piracy an issue?
So we've gone over what piracy is, and a brief history of it's beginnings on the computer. It's a topic that has been in the eyes of the media for quite a while, but is it really something to be concerned about? Well, lets take a look at some examples of piracy and the impact that they've had on the owners and creators of the content.
Microsoft has admitted that piracy has helped windows achieve a huge market share in China. They plan on trying to convert the users of pirated windows to licensing the software. While they don't support piracy, they have stated that they would rather an individual pirate their software than install a competitor's software. "As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted and then we'll somhoe figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade." said Bill Gates in 1998. As I'm sure everyone knows, Microsoft is still around and kicking with Windows 8 just around the corner.
Recording Industry Association of America
Microsoft clearly isn't too concerned about piracy ruining their business, but many people are. The Recording Industry Association of America is one example of this. "While downloading one song may not feel that serious of a crime, the accumulative impact of millions of songs downloaded illegally – and without any compensation to all the people who helped to create that song and bring it to fans – is devastating."
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