| What would you say if you were told that you were | | | | place you are leaving yourself open to an unnamed |
| losing thousands upon thousands of dollars on a piece | | | | amount of money in profits. Do the right thing and |
| of software that you have created and are trying to | | | | protect your digital property somehow or another. |
| make a profit off of? Well, it is the truth. Software | | | | Think of all of the digital media that flows through the |
| piracy is a problem that has brought the software | | | | internet, such as e-books, copyrighted images, articles, |
| industry to a near standstill, costing the industry billions | | | | software, and other things. The internet is not as |
| of dollars each and every year in lost revenue, not to | | | | secure as it could and probably should be, and if you |
| mention thousands upon thousands of software and IT | | | | are one of those people who are using the computer |
| jobs in the United States. | | | | and Internet to your advantage to gain a skill and gain |
| Something must be done about the issue of software | | | | something monetary from it, you are more at risk than |
| piracy but what? Copyright infringement is a faceless | | | | ever before. |
| crime; the victim is often the hard working programmer | | | | Just why is that, you ask? It is rather simple. As |
| but the assailant could be anybody; you could look | | | | technology advances and gives you the tools and |
| them in the face and not know who they are. For this | | | | capabilities necessary to create innovative products it |
| reason, it is important to protect your digital media as | | | | also gives other people out there license to take it and |
| much as you possibly can because of all intellectual | | | | that can fast defeat the purpose of creating software |
| property is it at the most risk of infringement by others, | | | | to sell for profit in the first place. |
| and those who can take advantage of a weak | | | | If you were creating something for fair use and share |
| security process or a hole in programming certainly will. | | | | with other people, digital rights management would not |
| The world is full of those who want to profit from | | | | be important but in the case that you are creating |
| something that they had no part in. It has been going | | | | something to make available to customers for a price, |
| on since the beginning of time and the only difference | | | | digital rights management is an important thing to take |
| now is that technology has allowed people to take | | | | into consideration. For every person that takes your |
| advantage of the work of others like never before, as | | | | software or product and comes by it illegally or |
| well as giving them an even more efficient means of | | | | immorally, they are bound to share it with at least one |
| distributing and even profiting from the work of others. | | | | person. That not only takes out of your pocket what |
| It seems you don't have to have a software | | | | you are due by their having possession of your |
| programming degree or experience to make money | | | | product but it also doubles that due to their likelihood to |
| selling computer programs or similar digital media; all | | | | share it with another person. |
| you have to do is be the proud owner of a CD or | | | | Luckily, there are services out there for people who do |
| DVD burner and maybe even a few good hacking | | | | not have their own method of digital rights |
| skills. | | | | management in place. Service like Lock It Now! And |
| Good digital rights management techniques are | | | | Software Defender provides photographers, e-book |
| necessary now more than ever before. Unfortunately | | | | creators and software entrepreneurs the opportunity |
| it is another investment in its own but there are | | | | to protect their product with an automated registration |
| services out there that are making good digital rights | | | | verification system, protecting you against repeat |
| management services more and more affordable, just | | | | 'refunders' (those who order your product just to copy |
| to offset the enormous killing that software piracy is | | | | it and request a refund of their money, thereby having |
| causing to the industry. | | | | obtained your product for free). |
| If you have created a software program, take the | | | | Copyright infringement and software piracy are as real |
| necessary steps to prevent it form being copied or | | | | as any computer program, e-book or digital image out |
| utilized by others to make a profit. A computer | | | | there so it is important to make sure that you take the |
| program or video game, picture or e-book is just as | | | | necessary steps to protect your intellectual property |
| important as a painting or novel and it is just as wrong | | | | from people who care not to pay for the things in life |
| to sell and distribute one as the other. Without having | | | | that they want. |
| appropriate digital rights management procedures in | | | | |