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| Join the Pirate Party! |
Windows for Rs 60. Five movies for Rs 100. But you're probably
inviting viruses and funding terrorists. Piracy in our World is an old story, one we’ve been all
but desensitized to since the first PCs started showing
up in offices and homes. It’s so open, so normal and
so habitual that it’s difficult to convince people that
there’s something wrong. And even in the last few
years, with awareness campaigns and better
distribution for legal software, the sheer audacity of
the industry is still amazing to see.
Yes, piracy is a flourishing industry. Maybe people
still think it happens only on the streets (or Torrent
sites) and are unaware of the amount of money that
gets siphoned out of regular channels and into back
markets. Maybe the authorities still think it’s only a
soft crime; an occasional distraction from “real” law
and order situation. Good, bad, wrong or right, consciously
or not, piracy has gained enough social sanction that
even registered DVD duplication units are known to
accept orders for producing these knockoff discs.
Surveys published by the Business Software Alliance
(BSA), IDG and KPMG point out that piracy is highest in
developing nations, and that there is a direct correlation
between piracy and malware infections. The monetary
value of unlicensed software, i.e. the loss incurred by
manufacturers, was pegged at US$ 50.2 billion for
the year 2008. Pirated software even outstrips free
software, since the cost advantage is negated. And
while India isn’t one of the top 25 offenders, losses are
mounting enough that manufacturers and distributors
are finding it tough to do business.
For the end consumer, on the other hand, it’s a
bonanza. A pirated version of Wndows Vista Ultimate
comes for Rs 60 today, as opposed to Rs 4,900 for a
legal copy of Home Basic. And Windows 7 is available
on the streets too, long before it will debut in shops.
Who wouldn’t give it a try? And who wouldn’t buy
five of the latest movies for Rs 100 on the roadside,
to watch at peace on their computers at night? Who
wouldn’t want to stop at a corner stall where a vendor
with a cheap laptop will fill their phones with all the
current Bollywood soundtrack hits for Rs 150? They can
get a few fresh gigabytes’ worth every month.
Maybe without piracy, we wouldn’t watch as many
movies, read as many books or use as much high-end
software as they now do. Maybe we wouldn’t even
grow or learn without it-how many of us can say our
first computers used a licensed OS (or how many of us
even knew there was such a distinction)? Most likely,
we’d all be quite lost and upset if all access to pirated
material was suddenly blocked. We’re at the pirate
party already, and we don’t even think it’s a problem.
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