Low prices key to stop software piracy
By Zatni Arbi
JAKARTA (JP): It was indeed a funny coincidence that I should receive a 14-page news release faxed directly from a major software vendor in Singapore right after I presented my personal views on software piracy in my article last week.
Although I know that stealing is stealing and that it is a black-and-white matter, the news release does shed some light on the rather shoddy business practices of one of the world's leading software companies.
According to this faxed news release, we'll all soon be hearing about a consent decree reached very recently between this particular software company, the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition.
The consent decree will, in essence, end the anti-competition practices that the company has been exercising all this time. Among other things, the company will have to stop forcing PC manufacturers to pay royalties although they are not selling their PC's with its operating system.
Now, do you have any idea who's been paying for all these royalties all these years? It's definitely not the computer vendors themselves. It's us, the computer buyers, since all costs are always passed on to the customers.
DoubleSpace case
Perhaps you have also heard that MS DOS 6.21 has been released. The only difference it has from MS DOS 6.2 is that there's no DoubleSpace data compression utility. Stac Electronics, the maker of Stacker, has won an already widely published lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation, as the latter has illegally incorporated some of the compression techniques belonging to Stacker in its DoubleSpace. On the other hand, Microsoft has also won over Stac Electronics, as the latter has reverse-engineered DoubleSpace's ability to get loaded before CONFIG.SYS is read.
What interests us here is the fact that software vendors have been proven before the court of law that they are guilty of violating each other's property rights. Is it really such a big deal now that so many unlicensed users are using their products?
Affordable
I strongly believe that the only way we can encourage people to buy original software is by making it really affordable for average users with average incomes. In this connection, I would like to give a hearty round of applause to Lotus Development Corp.'s representatives for Indonesia for their exemplary strategy.
Last week, during a Lotus products presentation, their dealers announced their offering of bundled Ami Pro 3.01 and Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows Release 4.0 for US$360.00. If you happen to have an original copy from a competing product, you can have the bundle for US$ 150.00. Now, with such a low price for two superb software programs, I really think there should be no more reason for corporate organizations and government offices in this coun try to keep using pirated copies.
I am convinced that lowering the price does not necessarily mean losing money. If you were selling cookies and they were not selling and were getting spoiled because they were too expensive, wouldn't it be more reasonable to sell the cookies at a lower price? By selling more copies, I believe vendors will be able to maintain their profitability and the technological performance of their R&D department.
How I wish more and more software publishers were making the same move as Lotus. That is, making their products more afford able in this country.
U.S. prices
For those of you who don't have access to U.S.-based computer magazines, here's a sample of the latest prices of popular software offered by MicroWarehouse, one of the oldest mail-order companies in that country: PageMaker 5.0, $589.00; Borland C++ 4.0, $339.95; Borland Paradox for Windows 4.5, $139.95; Quattro Pro for Windows 5.0, $45.95; PCTools for Windows 2.0, $95.95; 1-2-3 for Windows 4.0, 309.95; Ami Pro 3.01, $269.95; Excel 5.0, $ 299.95; FoxPro for Windows 2.6, $89.95; Winword 6.0, $299.95; CorelDRAW! 5.0 (Diskettes), $599.95; CorelDRAW! 5.0 (CD), $469.95; Norton Desktop for Windows 3.0, $109.95 and Norton Utilities 8.0, $114.95.
In addition, here are the upgrade prices offered by WordPer fect Corp. until August 1994: WordPerfect 5.1+, $49.95; WordPer fect 6.0b for DOS, $99.00, and WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows, $99.00. Can you believe this? For comparison, you're free to check the prices of the same products at local dealers.
Let's make it clear once again. Let's get the message through. If software programs were as "uncopyable" or "unpirateable" as Honda Accords, there wouldn't be so much enthusiasm around for computer products. Computer exhibitions wouldn't be as packed as they are now. People in offices and schools wouldn't be as familiar with the highly technical nitty-gritty of computer hardware and software as they are now. Consequently, there wouldn't be so much demand for original software, either.
If software publishers really worry about the increasing rate of software piracy, there's only one thing they can do: Lower the price, particularly in developing countries in which software piracy is claimed to be rampant. Most important of all, set a good example to computer users! Be honest to each other before demanding software users to be honest.