Computers: A Victory for the Pirates?

Desperate to halt the proliferation of bootleg copies--estimated at one point to outnumber legitimate disks by as many as 8 to 1--some publishers considered more draconian tactics. One scheme (never used) involved creating a so-called software virus, a subprogram in the disk that would wipe out the entire disk if an attempt were made to copy it.

While these defensive measures temporarily stymied the pirates, they irritated paying customers. Copy protection made it more difficult, if not impossible, for users to make copies of important disks as backups--insurance against accidental damage to the original. It also prevented them from loading programs on large-capacity hard-disk drives or even from running some standard programs on so-called compatible machines. "The philosophy behind copy protection is sick," says Borland President Phillippe Kahn, who made his fortune selling unprotected programs at discount prices. "It's like being frisked for shoplifting when you walk out of a store."

Finally, the industry's largest customers rebelled. In 1985 Boeing Computer Services began buying unprotected programs whenever possible. Other firms took protected software off their lists of "recommended" disks. The Department of Defense went one step further: it banned the purchase of any protected programs for DOD use, a policy that cost Lotus several large Government contracts. Says David Winer of Living Videotext, which phased out copy restrictions during the past year: "To introduce a new product that is copyprotected would be suicide today."

The pirates have not been given free rein, however. Lotus and Ashton-Tate have taken a litigious approach, suing companies that buy one disk and allow their employees to make copies. Others have bolstered their support for legitimate customers, installing phone "help" lines for registered owners, issuing addenda to the manuals and correcting bugs in the original software. Says Jerry Schneider, president of the Capital P.C. User Group: "A person has to be an absolute fool to use a pirated disk for important data."

Still, software copying, like photocopying, is probably here to stay. Says Kenneth Wasch, director of the Software Publishers Association: "We have grown up with the belief that intellectual property is O.K. to take." But there are signs of change. The notorious Bozo NYC, who once was duplicating and giving away copy-protected programs by the dozens, is now a software author himself. He will still break any protection scheme that gets in his way but no longer gives out free copies. "If I start using a program in my work," he says, "I make it a point to buy a copy. I believe in paying for the things I use." --By Philip Elmer-DeWitt. Reported by Scott Brown/Los Angeles