o another.Asking for the install cd or disk at random intervals is another trick that is sometimes used. This is, of course, quite inconvenient for most users considering most people store their disks in areas other than where their computer is located (like storage closet). Laptop users are even more frustrated at this practice since their disks could be in another town, or state/country for that matter.For corporations or government, a good way to avoid any piracy problems is to put procedures in place that make it very difficult. Tom Diederich writes about our government, which requires agencies to ensure that only registered software is used on government-owned computers. They must also prepare inventories and maintain record-keeping systems for the software being used. Getting CaughtEven though software pirates are probably one of the most difficult group of criminals to catch, this is not stopping our law enforcement agencies from making some headway against the overwhelming tide of cases. The Business Software Alliance tells us of what punishment we can expect if caught, The government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If you are convicted, you may be fined up to $250,000 or given a jail term of up to five years, or both. In 1997, the President signed into law the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act, making it easier to prosecute software pirates on the Internet. Now you can be prosecuted even if you do not make money from your infringement. Elinor Mills spins the tale of an FBI raid in which they seized computer hardware, documents, and other records because of suspected piracy. Just as drug dealers can have their property seized, so can software pirates. Many large software companies are members of watchdog groups which keep a watchful eye on businesses and corporations. An Associated Press writer tells us of what happens when industry watchdogs caught Milwaukee based Enterprise Ltd. without licenses fo...
