Question

You are the proprietor of a fledgling computer graphics company in Shanghai, China. The sophisticated business application software you need for your business normally sells for 2,900 renminbi (around $350) at computer stores in Shanghai and online. But with an income of just a little more than $5,000 a year, you cannot afford to buy the original graphics software for your business. An associate has told you she can get you all the software you need, and more, for only $30. Yet, you have financially strapped friends who code software for the global software companies that make the very programs you need. Answer the following questions: 3-5. Do your circumstances make it ethical for you to purchase pirated software? 3-6. What would you do if you were told about a new government effort to punish users of pirated software actively? 3-7. Does a software company bear any responsibility for subcontracting work to low-wage markets where its finished product is unaffordable for the same coders who worked on it?

Answer 1

3-5: No, my circumstances do not make it ethical for me to purchase pirated software. This is because ethics is an objective standard and hence is not subjected to change in situations and circumstances. The standard for ethics will remain constant and the same irrespective of the condition or the state to which you are subjected to or which you face.

3-6: I will try and find out if the original graphics software can be licensed for shorter periods on a lower rate. This is because using the pirated software is not only unethical here but can also lead to legal actions being taken against me and fines being imposed on me by the government. I will have to try and find alternative solutions that are both ethical and legal. I will consider contacting the software company to find out if they provide a lease arrangement in which I do not need to buy the software but can use it on as needed basis.

3-7: Yes, a company does bear some responsibility for subcontracting work to low-wage markets where its finished product is unaffordable for the same coders who worked on it. To ensure ease of business and viability of business for the coders in low wage countries a company bears the moral responsibility to provide its finished products at reasonable rates to the coders so that they can work on the sub-contracted coding work in a systematic manner. The software company will stand to gain in the long run from the reduced costs of outsourcing in the low wage countries and markets and the coders will gain by having access to the software at low rates or at free of cost. This will create a win-win situation for both the parties here in the long run.