The Computer Corner
By Charles Miller

EULA-lation

This is the third in a series of columns on the subject of software licensing. In preceding articles I presented my view of the present situation and my opinion that the software industry is largely responsible for the present environment in which piracy is absolutely rampant.

This week, in the interest of fairness, I attempt to play devil’s advocate and present the software industry’s side of the story.

The focal point of contention between software companies and their customers is something called the end user license agreement (EULA). This is a legally binding document structured to protect the intellectual property rights of the owner and define the limits of use by the consumer.

The software companies have learned they are dealing with clientele who will agree to the EULA then turn around and break every promise they just made. Customers agree to install the software on one computer only, and then immediately install it on several computers. They agree to not share copies of the program with others, and then they do so anyway.

By far the biggest problem, though, is that the customers never seem to be able to get it through their thick skulls that they are not the owners of the software. When those same people rent a car, they are usually able to understand they are only using a rental car and do not own it. But those consumers will tell you that if they paid several hundred dollars for a piece of software that it is theirs to do with as they please. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When customers clicked on [I Agree] when installing the software, they agreed to the EULA that clearly states they bought “permission to use”—not ownership.

People generally do understand it is a violation of copyright to buy a book then copy or scan it to resell or give away. Nobody in their right mind is going to do that, though, because it is a lot of work to copy hundreds of pages of a book. On the other hand, it is not difficult to copy a disk containing thousands of lines of computer code and data. The fact it is so easy to do makes too many users believe it is okay. It is not!

The same general principle applies to a book and a software program. You purchase the right to use it, but not ownership of its intellectual property.

Faced with having to deal with such an untrustworthy, thieving public, the software companies are justified in resorting to means to protect their rights under the law.

All the users who believe it is okay to ignore the EULA need to learn another acronym: DRM. Digital Rights Management is going to play a much larger role in the future of the computer and entertainment industries. In short, the software and the entertainment industries have seen that trusting their customers to comply with EULAs has not worked and so they are resorting to more sophisticated technological answers to prevent unlicensed use.

Already, many software companies are making use of technologies that require software to be “activated” via the internet before it can be used. This often prevents more than one copy of a serial number being used.

The entertainment industry is also pursuing technologies that will ensure only original copies of music and videos can be played. If you think that making duplicates of copy-protected music CDs or DVD movies can be difficult now, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044-415-101-8528 or email FAQ8@SMAguru.com. 

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