By Jordan Davenport
Identifying the Problem
Legal Protections Software granted copyright protection as a “literary work” in 1980 by Copyright Act US Patent Office granted software patents starting in 1989 Mathematical algorithms still unpatentable
Software Piracy Unauthorized reproduction of software Sharing software beyond the legal limits of the license agreement Does not include archival copies Owners of copies permitted to resell under first-sale doctrine of 1908 As simple as friends sharing with friends An entire industry created around piracy
Warez So-called “leetspeak” for “computer software” Distributed online for free Released by organized groups Often released via peer to peer file sharing networks A well-known website dedicated to piracy whose owners were prosecuted in 2009 Image from
The Industry’s Response
Moral Campaigns “Don’t Copy That Floppy” Video campaign Released by Software Publishers Association in 1992 Highlighted possible damages to the industry caused by piracy Sequel “Don’t Copy That 2” released in (Original Video)
Early Copy Protection First seen on cassette tapes Apple introduced copy protection to floppy diskettes Changed address or data marks, still readable by standard hardware Locksmith for Apple II circumvented protection on floppies Image from
Enter the CD-ROM Companies such as Sony introduced copy protection on CDs Contained protection data in locations unwritable by typical CD burners Method used for Sony’s PlayStation console
Product Keys & Activation Product key generally provided upon purchase or registration Used by Microsoft since Windows 95 Not very effective without required activation Activation introduced in Microsoft products with Office 2000 SR1
Windows XP “Corporate” Volume licensed versions of XP Professional required product key without activation Often swiped from educational or corporate institutions Leaked VL keys often blacklisted by Service Packs
Windows Genuine Advantage Used to verify authenticity of an installation of Windows Notifications component distributed automatically in 2006 as a “Critical Update” Required for Windows Update
WGA False Positives Activation servers reported false positives in October 2006 Marked “Genuine” Windows as non- Genuine Prevented use of Windows Update
WGA in Vista (Initial Release) Reduced functionality to limited applications after 72 hours of detection Known problem with false positives Changed to nag-only in Service Pack 1
Vista’s Volume Licensing Now requires product activation Key Management Services servers provide local activation Reactivation required every 6 months Cracked December 2006, before Vista’s public January 2007 launch Unauthorized public KMS server for a specific VL key
Protections in Mac OS X No activation required Trusted Platform Modules Requires specific Intel instruction sets Requires EFI instead of BIOS
OSx86 – “Hackintosh” License requires “Apple-branded” hardware Hacked to run on other x86 processors, kernel patches, limited support Psystar sold pre-configured Hackintosh machines with like hardware Apple sued under the DMCA and won
Copy Protection in PC Games Some require disc to be inserted Original RollerCoaster Tycoon didn’t verify if disc was original or copied Newer games require online activation Pictured: Valve Corporation’s Steam client
Discussion Questions Who is hurt worse by copy protection – pirates or legitimate consumers? What is the average consumer willing to put up with? Does piracy benefit the industry in any way?
References Anckaert, Bertrand, Bjorn De Sutter and Koen De Bosschere. "Software Piracy Prevention through Diversity." 25 October April Bott, Ed. "Vista WGA problems confirmed." 26 February ZDNet. 26 April "Copy protection." 17 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April "Copyright and Digital Files." n.d. U.S. Copyright Office. 25 April "Copyright infringement of software." 22 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April Cronin, Gareth. "A Taxonomy of Methods for Software Piracy." n.d. 25 April "Don't Copy That Floppy." 22 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April "Error message when you use Windows Vista: "An unauthorized change was made to your license"." 25 February Microsoft Support. 26 April "How can I setup a KMS server ?" 20 January windows-noob.com. 26 April Huebsch, Russell. "History of Software Piracy." n.d. eHow Money. 26 April Krazit, Tom. "DMCA axes sites discussing Mac OS for PCs." 17 February ZDNet. 26 April "Microsoft Product Activation." n.d. 26 April "OSx86." 26 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April "Product activation." 7 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April "Product Activation and Key Information." n.d. Microsoft Volume Licensing. 26 April Russell, Ryan. "Windows Genuine Advantage is still genuinely bad." 16 April Windows Secrets. 26 April Slimmer, Joanna. "The Origins of Copying that Floppy." 31 March RTF/COM 309 Computer Security Web Site. 24 April "Software copyright." 3 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April "Steam (software)." 25 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April "Steam Subscriber Agreement." n.d. Steam. 26 April "Vista KMS activation server." 9 December KezNews. 26 April "Warez." 13 April Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April "Win xp corporate version (Forums)." October Velocity Reviews. 26 April "Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade." n.d. Microsoft Store Online. 25 April "Windows Genuine Advantage." 30 March Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April 2011.