[computer-go] How to prevent Copyright violations?

[Don Dailey]

I had one product that had booby traps in it.   If a hacker came in to
reverse engineer it, he would encounter what appeared to be a fairly
straightforward hack.   However it was just the first level.   At this
point the software would appear to unlock and it would be some time
before the software announced that it had been hacked.    The idea was
for the hacker to believe he had unlocked the software and to give some
trouble to dishonest end users.    After the software announces that
it's a hacked version,  it will "hang" the device requiring a soft
reset.   It won't cause any damage or lose any files - but will scare
the end user.

It was great fun, but probably just a waste of time.  It did work to an
extent however.   I encountered my product on a hacker site and
downloaded it.  There was a README with it where the hacker was proud of
himself and said, "enjoy!"   As it turns out, he never got past my first
level hurdle, but there are 2 more levels and each was more obfuscated.
The idea is to frustrate the hacker, making him feel as if he can never
be sure he uncovered everything.  In this case, "I won" but you cannot
stop a determined hacker who is skilled.  You can only make it more
difficult for him.

I did that more for my own amusement than anything else.  I personally
don't feel it's worth the effort unless you just had great fun doing it
which I did.   

I have spent a lot of time personally reflecting on all the issues of
"digital rights", copyrights, patents and so on.   The whole thing is a
great mess.    There is really something fundamentally wrong (in my
opinion) with the notion that you can have an idea and legally forbid
others people from benefiting from the idea so you can make profit.   

Of course I understand the philosophy behind it all, the notion that
creativity must be financially rewarded etc, but I think the digital age
has really exposed this as a flawed concept - now you must go to great
lengths to try to artificially protect something that is fundamentally
difficult to protect.  

I am surprised that libraries are legal -  it is counter to the
philosophy that you should pay money in order to benefit from an idea
that "belongs" to someone else.   Has that ever been challenged in
court?   I think probably not because it exposes the flaw in the system
too.  But I know you cannot copy a book on a copy machine for someone
else to use for free.  But hundreds of people can use the book in a
library for free without paying the author.    So why can't you put the
library on the web for free?    The system is broken and doesn't even
have logical rules.

However, you must play the game.  Although I don't like the system, I
live in it.   I have copy protected software and I don't believe I have
a right to copy someone else's software illegally just because I don't
think it's the best possible system.

- Don
   




On Tue, 2006-09-19 at 23:16 +0200, Heikki Levanto wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 19, 2006 at 10:44:42PM +0200, Chrilly wrote:
> > I got a mail from Fritz Reul, the programmer of the strong chess programm 
> > Loop. Loop is sold over the internet, has a copyright protection, but Fritz 
> > detected, that one can download the programm from
> > 
> > http://www.4shared.com/file/3725942/(omitted)
> > 
> > Has anyone from the professionals in the group experience with this 
> > question?. How can one prevent technically and legally such copyrights 
> > violations.
> 
> I am not a professional, not in chess or go programming at least.
> Professional programmer yes, but working for an open source company, so
> take all this with a grain of salt...
> 
> 
> Legally, it is easy: Sue anyone who puts your copyrighted work up for
> download. Not practical, as you would have to hire lawyers in various
> different countries, and probably would not get anything out of it.
> 
> Technically, it is next to impossible. Many ways have been tried, and
> most, if not all, have been broken, and/or have added much hazzle to
> the legal buyers of the software.
> 
> Economically, I am not sure if it pays off to try to "protect" your
> code. Some illegal downloads may be counted as lost sales, but probably
> many of those who download would never buy in the first place. Some will
> buy afterwards, if the stuff is good enough. 
> 
> In practice, I recommend not to worry too much about copying. Consider
> pirated copies as free advertising. Offer something extra for the
> regular users who have paid for their stuff. For example, access to
> mailing lists, web forums, extra features, and so on.
> 
> Most of all, don't loose sleep over copying. You can't stop it anyway,
> and the effort you put in trying, could be better used in producing
> something valuable.
> 
> Just my two cents
> 
>     - Heikki
> 
>