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Thanks for clarifying, however I still feel my points are valid in relation to some of the other comments on product demand and licensing in general. Here's an idea. If you want to restrict the use of a service program by applications compiled only by a certain vendor you could put a check into your service program so that it could only be used from programs compiled on a selected system. These attributes are readily available in the program objects. We have an arrangement with a vendor that works this way and we've had no problems with it. You could also create a special version of your service program for vendors if necessary. If you feel that your code is truly worth protecting more tightly, then you should be able to find a creative way to make this happen. A lot of times the economy of scale and ROI potential of your products will determine the reason for adding license protection to your products. Regards, Richard Schoen RJS Software Systems Inc. "Providing Your....iNFORMATION NOW!" Email: richard@rjssoftware.com Web Site: http://www.rjssoftware.com Tel: (952) 898-3038 Fax: (952) 898-1781 Toll Free: (888) RJSSOFT
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
Richard, That's a good idea. Also, why not use simple encryption? Have an encrypted value that can only be unencrypted by passing a key when calling the service program. Only give the key to your clients. Those without the key get rejected. chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "rjssoft" -
Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
The DLLs of 16 windows days were attached through the code and we're pretty much unsecureable. The 32 bit OCXs are attached through their registrations and can bring in on-line help, parameter prompting, auto completion etc whilst developing programs. The vendors can provide a development and/or distribution controls. The distribution controls typically won't allow use in program development. This is what is needed by Robert.Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
** This thread discusses the Content article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
Couldn't you just force the third party to bind your code by copy? Then they only redistribute your code in binary form, and their customers can't bind it.Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
I am not in the business of making software for sale, but I am in the business of buying others software to use as tools for the custom software I create for my clients. And I am sickened by the carefree, ignorant or dishonest ways that some of my own best friends and associates STEAL software. I have seen large and small business entities, including non-profits, who sell patented and copyrighted materials for their livlihood who think nothing of buying "one license for everybody" in their organization. I don't have the TECHNICAL answer to such problems, but I DO have the MORAL answer for them. (And we all know what that is.) So 'til something better comes along, we must simply do right and talk about the subject to the ignorant and/or dishonest whenever the opportunity presents itself. Carl Agee 205.266.0704 04/05/06 @ 08:20 CDTComment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
Bind by copy is always an option, but "force" is difficult. Most software vendors who are interested in my RPG xTools are applications solution providers and include source code with their software. So even if they bind-by-copy in the initial shipment, something needs to be provided for the customers to make modifications to their code. But even that may not be a solution. Given that their own customers need to recompile (rarely) they will need the compile-time tools. What I'm proposing is something that gives me the ability to licnese a runtime and a compile-time solution verses what we have today, an all or nothing situation.Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
Besides qualifying as stealing and immoral, software piracy is illegal. Therefore can you not take legal action against some of the bad guys? I mean, this sounds like a real pain in the ass, but perhaps you can make it worth your while with a good case. Software agreements have a purpose, and they need to be followed up on. Someone can be made an example of here. But whatever you do Bob, don't leave us! What would happen to RPG World?!Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
Bob, I normally use the "nomain" keyword in service programs, but I think you could include mainline code in service programs to validate a license key the moment a service program is loaded, before any subprocedures are called. I suspect there may be a way of abending the loading of a service program. I agree that it would be nice if IBM were to implement something like that under the covers, but ... Nathan.Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
You'll have to try to tie down a license agreement on these issues but enforcing it will be impossible. Have you thought of reverting to a service timeout arrangement - requirement an annual renewal? This can flush out the illegal copies to some degree. Basically the whole software development industry is corrupt and becoming more so. Movements such as Open Source just encourage individuals (and indeed IS managers) to believe that all software should be developed and supplied for free anyway.Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
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I'm a firm believer in the old saying "1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean is... a good start". There are three fundemental things wrong with the United States. 1) The over eating culture that's being created to sell more food. 2) The user of fossil fuels in 2006. 3) The number of people graduating from law school in 2006. 4) The number of people graduating from law school in 2005. 6) The number of people graduating from law school in 2004.Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
I use a routine at the beginning of each major function in RPG xTools that checks for a valid license key. Once it runs, it sets on a bit and I just check the bit from that point on so as to avoid runtime performance issues. The real problem is this. If Software Company A wants to OEM my software into their end-user application. They pay my X dollars to do that. It covers their use and and support for them. They have not paid a license for their customers to use my software outside the scope of the 3rd party software. Their customer now sees that xTools is on their machine and starts using it. Today, there is no way to stop them from using it. They can write the prototypes or download them from the web or if the software company needs to include their own source code, then they've shipped the prototypes with their software. What we've found today, is, if there is no fence built around the software, somebody will cross the line and use it. Unfortunately we don't have a piracy infrastructure in place like the recording industry does. So without runtime and compiletime protection tools, if I write something like xTools that everybody wants, I either have to sit back and let them "steal" it or restrict my market penetration by building that fence.Comment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
Bill Gates wrote a similar open letter complaint around 1978 and he's now the richest man in the world. Providing source code wasn't the way he did it, to be sure. rdComment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
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All this falls into the realm of "digital rights management", or DRM. As you pointed out, this is a major concern of the entertainment industry. The problem with DRM is that it tends to inconvenience the honest customers while only providing a minor nuisance to the pirates. The last thing any company wants is for their critical application to stop working at month-end because the DRM system thinks there's something wrong, whatever the reason. It happens once, and a company will stop using your product. It happens more than once, and word will spread throughout the industry. Face it: In this digital age, there's going to be file copying. But perhaps, Bob, you're asking the wrong question. Isn't the question really: "How do I maximize the revenue for my product?" One alternative is to price your product high. Even with few sales, you could still make a lot of money. But there will be people who don't want to pay the high price and will borrow a copy. Or you could price your software so low that no one will think twice about paying for it. At least, get the price low enough so that it can be paid for out of a petty cash account. Even with a lower price, the additional volume may well put more cash in your pocket. Or you could do what the "Linux weenies" do and give away your software for free. Crazy? They're no dummies. A lot of those "long-haired smellies" do make money in the Linux software world. Pricing your software for free can end up with your software installed on practically all iSeries machines out there. You can then make your money selling support contracts, books, and education. Look around. There's a heck of a lot of great free software available in the Perl, PHP and Python communities. It's not just price that attracts people to those languages. Another alternative is a tiered pricing scheme. Free to all users, but charge a fee to those who incorporate your utilities in their own commercial products. Anyways, for what it's worth, that's my two cents. Cheers! HansComment
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Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying
** This thread discusses the article: Piracy, Bootlegging, and Copying **
Hans, I've tried all of the suggestions you've proposed. In fact, I'm doing the last one now with iSockets--it is free except when used in a commericial product. In that situation I charge a small, one-time license fee. So far, I've had only two tire kickers and no takers. Most iSeries software houses seem to think if they just tell their customers to go out and get iSockets for free, they are no violating the license agreement. I tried the give away thing with xTools. I initially offered it for no charge for the first 10 months it was available, but told people that upgrades would be at the normal maintenance fee prices. Had 4 takes on that. I've tried lowering the price to what I think a small business should be able to pay for out of petty cash ($295)--zero takers. I tried a higher price ($5995) and had two customer buy into it. I tried the current pricing structure of tiered pricing around $$995/1500/2000 based on processor group plus an 18% maintenance fee. Over the last two years this has yielded an average of 1.5 units per month. In this space it seems we have a problem. 1) Programmers personalize a software purchas until $20,000 to the point where they will not approach the powers that be to suggest they get it for their shop. Sure a shop will buy Synon for $40k+ and put it on the shelf, but pay $1k for something most of the programming staff is going to use regularly. Doesn't happen. 2) A decades old problem (related to the first issue) is the programmer saying "Oh, I can spend a few days/weeks writing that myself, why pay Cozzi for his software when I can get the company to pay me instead. Of course they often do a poor job of it. So it looks like I have a couple of choices: A) Leave the iSeries software market. B) Charge $20,000+ for my software and hope to sell a dozen or two copies each year. Of course, how'd that work out for IBM with iSeries development software? Until they bundled everything together and effectively raised the price of the RPG compiler, people were not buying the other stuff.Comment
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