Piracy or Business as Usual?

An alliance of computer software manufacturers is seeking $300,000 from the Los Angeles Unifed School District to settle the trade group’s allegations that a Woodland Hills school violated federal copyright laws by illegally copying software programs.

Although school officials have denied wrongdoing, the school board is prepared to settle with the computer industry giants and to establish a team of technicians to seek out and replace pirated software, at a cost of about $5 million.

DIANE WEDNER asked a computer firm executive and a high school computer teacher about the ethical and financial implications of using unlicensed programs, which experts say costs the computer industry more than $11 billion a year.

GRANT ROSOVE

President, David Grant Consulting, Sherman Oaks

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I would have to support the [software manufacturers’] position in this matter because there is an industrywide problem with copying software. If a huge company like Microsoft is not the watchdog, then who will be?

I think the [Business Software Alliance] is trying to make people abide by the laws that are in force. If people want software but can’t afford it, it’s in their power to buy other software that’s less expensive. Companies like Microsoft have set a standard. They’re saying that pirating software is not OK. And it isn’t. Just because Microsoft is big doesn’t mean you can break the laws protecting intellectual property.

When individuals or institutions don’t buy the software out of the package, it cuts the middle person out of the market. If they don’t buy these products legitimately, we, the small retailer, don’t make the sale and we lose money too. My company makes custom software using a lot of Microsoft products. If the customer doesn’t pay for Microsoft’s product, we can’t write the [custom program] for it.

I believe the solution is for school districts to pool together their substantial buying power and work with large companies like Microsoft. I believe [these big companies] want to force the hands of those illegally copying software, and they want to rectify this problem. If the [Los Angeles Unified] School District could negotiate in good faith and monitor their staff and the personnel who use the programs at home, I imagine the software manufacturers would listen and help. There is a middle ground; both parties have legitimate concerns. There must be a sit-down where both sides negotiate.

JUDY QUAN-JEW

Business and computer education teacher, John F. Kennedy High School, Granada Hills

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I believe there is an ethical issue here. It’s like taking a work of art and copying and selling it. We should be teaching honesty and moral values to our kids. It’s wrong for teachers to copy software, and I don’t do it.

I can, however, see why teachers resort to copying programs. They want good things for their students; they want the kids to learn. Yet the teachers can’t afford [the programs]. We often have to buy materials out of our own pockets and it’s quite costly. Especially software.

Let’s say I want to buy an accounting program. I’m always told there’s no money for it. We’re given just so much money, sometimes only $300 for a whole year. Our [software money] comes out of textbook funds, which is very limited. When we need textbooks, we get 10 one year, then 10 the next, and it takes three or four years to get a whole set.

It’s the same with software. I get one copy of a program. I know some teachers copy the programs. But their motives are not malicious; their intentions are good.

I have to wonder why the Los Angeles Unified School District has millions of dollars to clean up this legal case and not enough money for equipment for the schools. We have so little to work with that teachers have had to be creative. Pirating is the creative solution for some teachers. They don’t tell the kids. They just quietly try to help them.

I think the big corporations could help educate the kids by providing software to the schools. Also, when schools buy computers, it would be better if they came loaded with the software programs. Then, with the programs we need already in the computer, no one would have to copy the programs. The computers could also come with a coding device that’s like a house key. No one can get in and copy the software.

But in the meantime, let those giant companies donate the software to the schools.