Question

Piracy and counterfeiting of software, videos, and other products is a concern of many companies. How are businesses and consumers affected by this illegal activity? ( typing please.thank you.)

Answer 1

Piracy and counterfeiting :

• Counterfeiting and piracy are illicit businesses in which criminal networks thrive,other counterfeiters and pirates produce and distribute are often substandard and can even be dangerous, posing health and safety risks that range from mild to life-threatening. Economy-wide, counterfeiting and piracy undermine innovation, which is key to economic growth. The magnitude and effects of counterfeiting and piracy are of such significance that they compel strong and sustained action from governments, business and consumers.
• More effective enforcement is critical in this regard, as is the need to build public support to combat the counterfeiting and piracy. Increased co-operation between governments, and with industry, would be beneficial, as would better data collection.
• The effects of counterfeiting and piracy. Included in the analysis are assessments of the (i) general socioeconomic effects (on innovation and growth, criminal activities, environment, employment, foreign direct investment, and trade), (ii) effects on rights’ holders (on sales volume and prices, brand value and firm reputation, royalties, firm-level investment, costs and the scope of operations), (iii) effects on consumers (health and safety risks and consumer utility) and (iv) effects on government (tax revenues, expenditures and corruption). The analysis shows that criminal networks and organised crime thrive via counterfeiting and piracy activities. The items that counterfeiters and pirates produce are often substandard, sometimes endangering the lives of those who purchase them. These illicit activities steal market share from legitimate businesses and undermine innovation, with negative implications for economic growth.
• Bribery associated with counterfeiting and piracy weakens the effectiveness of public institutions at the expense of society at large. Moreover, the savings that consumers may achieve by knowingly purchasing lower-priced counterfeit or pirated products need to be considered in a broader context. Depending on the product, consumers can be worse off. In some cases, consumers seeking to save money may be exposing themselves to health and safety risks when the products concerned are substandard. Governments are also directly affected: tax revenues are foregone and costs are incurred in combating the problem and public institutions are weakened when criminal networks use corruption to facilitate their counterfeiting and piracy activities.

Effect of Piracy on a Business :

Software Piracy Problems :

• You’ve probably noticed over the years that using a recently purchased new computer program involves some complex steps to initialize the software, typically requiring a registration number of 20 digits or more. While there are multiple reasons for this, a key factor is software companies protecting their products from software piracy. Built-in digital rights management protections are designed to make piracy increasingly difficult, whether the product is a piece of software or a piece of music.

Music and Entertainment Piracy :

• You’ve probably seen the infamous FBI warnings that appear at the beginning of many movies, whether viewed in the theater or at home. The language warns of severe penalties for the “... unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted motion pictures …”
• The warning is a reminder that movies are protected by copyright. They cannot be copied or used in any commercial fashion without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Doing so, as the FBI so sternly notes, is illegal. It is an act of piracy.
• It’s not just movies that are protected. Photos, books, graphic designs, music and all sorts of other creative works are protected by copyright for many decades after their creation. Copyright is granted the moment a work is created and lasts for the lifetime of the creator plus an additional 70 years after his or her death.

The Effects of Digital Piracy on Industry :

Pirating consequences can be quite substantial, affecting the entire distribution network, from product creator to the end user. As is true with all forms of theft, it’s difficult to get a accurate handle on how widespread digital piracy is and how much companies are losing as a result. Some recent estimates and examples provide a sense of the scope of the issues.

• Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu lose about $50 billion a year from pirated content, according to recent estimates. This amount is roughly on par with the actual income these services bring in from their paying customers.
• Illegal copying and streaming of movies and television shows also leads to substantial losses, estimated to climb to $52 billion a year by 2022.
• Music piracy costs the industry about $12 billion a year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Of course, many of these sources have a self-interest in making the piracy problem seem as dire as possible. Still, the scope and scale of digital piracy seems to be quite substantial.

Other Effects of Computer Piracy :

• It’s not just the copyright holders that are affected. Individuals making use of pirated materials are subject to fines for copyright infringement that can range as high as $150,000 per violation. Even in the absence of monetary penalties, receiving a cease-and-desist letter from a copyright holder, demanding compensation for infringing their copyright, is an unpleasant experience.
• Distributors who copy or facilitate access to copyright-protected materials also face severe legal and economic consequences. Those who remember the music streaming service, Napster, will probably also recall how the company was ultimately crushed under a barrage of lawsuits.
• Lastly, users of improperly obtained content run a real risk of downloading viruses and other forms of computer malware along with the office software or computer games they just acquired. Your “free” copy of software may turn out to be the last program your network is able to download before becoming destablilized by a computer virus.