By Jordan Davenport. Identifying the Problem Legal Protections Software granted copyright...
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Transcript of By Jordan Davenport. Identifying the Problem Legal Protections Software granted copyright...
Legal Protections
Software granted copyright protection as a “literary work” in 1980 by Copyright Act
US Patent Office granted software patents starting in 1989Mathematical algorithms still unpatentable
Software Piracy
Unauthorized reproduction of softwareSharing software beyond the legal limits of
the license agreementDoes not include archival copiesOwners of copies permitted to resell under
first-sale doctrine of 1908 As simple as friends sharing with friends An entire industry created around piracy
Warez
So-called “leetspeak” for “computer software”
Distributed online for free Released by organized
groups Often released via peer to
peer file sharing networksA well-known website
dedicated to piracy whose owners were prosecuted in 2009
Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pirate_Bay
Moral Campaigns
“Don’t Copy That Floppy”Video campaignReleased by Software Publishers
Association in 1992Highlighted possible damages to the
industry caused by piracySequel “Don’t Copy That 2”
released in 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up863eQKGUI (Original Video)
Early Copy Protection
First seen on cassette tapes Apple introduced copy protection to
floppy diskettesChanged address or data marks, still
readable by standard hardware Locksmith for Apple II
circumvented protection on floppies
Image from http://www.video-games-museum.com/en/game/White-Disk-28A-Locksmith-v6.0/37/3/13227
Enter the CD-ROM
Companies such as Sony introduced copy protection on CDsContained protection data in locations
unwritable by typical CD burnersMethod used for Sony’s PlayStation console
Product Keys & Activation Product key generally provided upon
purchase or registration Used by Microsoft since Windows 95 Not very effective without required
activation Activation introduced in Microsoft
products with Office 2000 SR1
Windows XP “Corporate”
Volume licensed versions of XP Professional required product key without activation
Often swiped from educational or corporate institutions
Leaked VL keys often blacklisted by Service Packs
Windows Genuine Advantage Used to verify authenticity of an
installation of Windows Notifications component distributed
automatically in 2006 as a “Critical Update”
Required for Windows Update
WGA False Positives
Activation servers reported false positives in October 2006
Marked “Genuine” Windows as non-Genuine
Prevented use of Windows Update
WGA in Vista (Initial Release)
Reduced functionality to limited applications after 72 hours of detection
Known problem with false positives Changed to nag-only in Service Pack 1
Vista’s Volume Licensing
Now requires product activation Key Management Services servers
provide local activationReactivation required every 6 months
Cracked December 2006, before Vista’s public January 2007 launchUnauthorized public KMS server for a
specific VL key
Protections in Mac OS X
No activation required Trusted Platform Modules Requires specific Intel instruction sets Requires EFI instead of BIOS
OSx86 – “Hackintosh”
License requires “Apple-branded” hardware
Hacked to run on other x86 processors, kernel patches, limited support
Psystar sold pre-configured Hackintosh machines with like hardwareApple sued under the DMCA and won
Copy Protection in PC Games Some require disc to be inserted
Original RollerCoaster Tycoon didn’t verify if disc was original or copied
Newer games require online activation
Pictured:
Valve Corporation’s Steam client
Discussion Questions
Who is hurt worse by copy protection – pirates or legitimate consumers?
What is the average consumer willing to put up with?
Does piracy benefit the industry in any way?
References Anckaert, Bertrand, Bjorn De Sutter and Koen De Bosschere. "Software Piracy Prevention through Diversity." 25 October 2004. 24 April 2011
<http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.60.5256&rep=rep1&type=pdf>. Bott, Ed. "Vista WGA problems confirmed." 26 February 2007. ZDNet. 26 April 2011 <http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/vista-wga-problems-confirmed/221>. "Copy protection." 17 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_protection>. "Copyright and Digital Files." n.d. U.S. Copyright Office. 25 April 2011 <http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html>. "Copyright infringement of software." 22 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April 2011
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement_of_software>. Cronin, Gareth. "A Taxonomy of Methods for Software Piracy." n.d. 25 April 2011 <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.86.3025&rep=rep1&type=pdf>. "Don't Copy That Floppy." 22 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Copy_That_Floppy>. "Error message when you use Windows Vista: "An unauthorized change was made to your license"." 25 February 2008. Microsoft Support. 26 April 2011
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931699/en-us>. "How can I setup a KMS server ?" 20 January 2009. windows-noob.com. 26 April 2011 <http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/649-how-can-i-setup-
a-kms-server/>. Huebsch, Russell. "History of Software Piracy." n.d. eHow Money. 26 April 2011 <http://www.ehow.com/about_5444918_history-software-piracy.html>. Krazit, Tom. "DMCA axes sites discussing Mac OS for PCs." 17 February 2006. ZDNet. 26 April 2011 <http://www.zdnet.com/news/dmca-axes-sites-discussing-mac-
os-for-pcs/146879>. "Microsoft Product Activation." n.d. 26 April 2011 <http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/mpa.aspx>. "OSx86." 26 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSx86>. "Product activation." 7 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_activation>. "Product Activation and Key Information." n.d. Microsoft Volume Licensing. 26 April 2011 <http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/existing-customers/product-
activation.aspx>. Russell, Ryan. "Windows Genuine Advantage is still genuinely bad." 16 April 2009. Windows Secrets. 26 April 2011 <http://windowssecrets.com/2009/04/16/02-
Windows-Genuine-Advantage-is-still-genuinely-bad>. Slimmer, Joanna. "The Origins of Copying that Floppy." 31 March 1996. RTF/COM 309 Computer Security Web Site. 24 April 2011
<http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~aviva/compsec/pirate/history.html>. "Software copyright." 3 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_copyright>. "Steam (software)." 25 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_%28software%29>. "Steam Subscriber Agreement." n.d. Steam. 26 April 2011 <http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/>. "Vista KMS activation server." 9 December 2006. KezNews. 26 April 2011 <URL Censored>. "Warez." 13 April 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warez>. "Win xp corporate version (Forums)." October 2003. Velocity Reviews. 26 April 2011 <http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t182625-win-xp-corporate-
version.html>. "Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade." n.d. Microsoft Store Online. 25 April 2011 <http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-7-Home-Premium-Upgrade/
product/B0F9E641>. "Windows Genuine Advantage." 30 March 2011. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Genuine_Advantage>.