Pirated Software At Wateen Kiosks

[News Bot]

On my way to Karachi, I got a chance to use internet on Wateen Kiosks set-up at Islamabad Airport. I would have really appreciated Wateen’s attempt to put on the complimentary kiosks for travelers and providing them services. But as I got over with my work and closed the browser, I saw something that can [...]

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[nazareth]

Pirated software. And you're proud of this??

[crippler]

No nazareth, we are not proud of it but then again, I myself have been a victim of this stupid verification issue of MS. I bought genuine windows vista and one fine day it just started saying that it is fake. After much communication between them and me, the issue was resolved.

On the other hand, a $300 software may not be much in US but in Pakistan it is over a salary of a junior young executive and nearly half the salary of what an average person earns after 5-6 years of employment. I am by no means supporting piracy but these companies much realize that in order to eliminate piracy, the product has to be in reach of the consumer.

Lastly, no pointing fingers, Europe and US has one of the highest pirated software downloading ratios

[Filthy Fish]

Microsoft is notorious for their thuggery. I had the same problem with my OEM copy of Win XP. You just have to ring customer service about 50 times to get it fixed

[nazareth]

As many times as I've had to format and reload Windows (not so much now as in the early days) I also have to contact Microsoft to activate my genuine Windows. I've found it to be a fairly painless procedure.

It's my values and thanks to my mom and dad that I don't steal. They also taught me tolerance, which is why I may be out of line here.

[MtRtMk]

A walk through history? Some very interesting reads.

http://ipjustice.org/IPJ_History_of_US_Piracy.pdf
Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
mattdorn.com Blog Archive A brief history of intellectual property
International Copyright - The United States And The Berne Convention

[nazareth]

I'm not going to waste time reading the links. I was expressing my own point of view, not that of all of my countrymen. All I know is that piracy drives prices up for everyone.



PS - I do appreciate the time you spent responding to my rant

[Filthy Fish]

Originally Posted by nazareth

I'm not going to waste time reading the links. I was expressing my own point of view, not that of all of my countrymen. All I know is that piracy drives prices up for everyone.

[MtRtMk]

So, there is indignation, holier than thou attitude and outrage when the American model is followed literally. Ironic, ain't it? Not of countrymen but of country. That was the official US stance for upwards of 100 years when it suited your interests, and now when developing countries follow exact US model, then there is moral outrage.

Some things are not as straightforward. The privilege with which you cast your personal opinion on IP as black and white has a past, a history. You would not enjoy that privilege without that official US past. IP in global or US historic terms has not been a static universally agreed to issue. If you follow an IP policy for a century, and then turn around wagging fingers at others, keep in mind that you wouldn't be in a position to point fingers if not for the same practices adopted by you. It isn't just a case of values and upbringing, so simply passing it off as superior moral integrity doesn't wash. If you choose to be blind to the complexities of issues, it doesn't mean that it really is so. In some/many cases depending on who/where/what is being discussed, it does come down to integrity. But not always by a long shot. The context is not immaterial when you look at developing countries and IP. Fairness and protection of interest of the local entrepreneur, foreign entrepreneur and end users must be evolved in a fair and equitable manner. Continuing with the status quo won't necessarily aspire to that fairness, neither will the IP doctrine that the US is now vociferously trying to enforce. That fairness certainly doesn't exist currently for all three parties, but to pass off the issue as one of pure rectitude is a gross misrepresentation and incorrect simplification. IP rights have evolved through history and not in a homogenous universal way, and are still evolving. There is a lot of complexity involved. Intellectual "Property" as currently understood has not always been so. Property that is intellectual is a relatively new concept. Does it mean it should be ignored and rights/labor of people working hard should be ignored? Certainly not. Private rights, public interest, IP policy as a tool for economic development, domestic innovation protectionism, monopolies on IP ..., these are not straightforward issues.

I am done, I am not going to waste any more time either on this matter and subsequent posts here, but one should look in the mirror.

TOO LONG, NEED SUMMARY? CLICK HERE

Spoiler:

Summary:

[nazareth]

???

[Ali Tayyab]

No one necessarily has to pay out of their nose to get microsoft products.

i Windows 7 for about $15 through my valid and legal IEEE membership. Though later Windows 7 was removed from the membership (it says "for now"), windows server 2008 r2 is still on it as well as various iterations of vista and xp.


I agree that the concept of simply converter a us$ price to a PKR price is insane. If microsoft can offer people in Mexico, china and india preferential prices they can do so for us as well.

The reason they do not is that they do not see much of a market here. As long as we are pirating within the country they are not bothered. it is only when the stuff pirated here finds its way to the US the problem begins.


Nazareth you might find it hard to believe, but when i visit by local bootleg software store, the people who spend the most are from the US and UK. They are not Non-resident Pakistanis. They buy software by the truck loads. I saw a couple of kids converting 20 pounds to rupees and they went ballistic when they found they can pretty much buy 20 movies for 20 quid!

I am not justifying piracy, i would love to buy all my software legally. But do not expect me to pay $60 for an x360 game when my salary is about a $1000 per month (and this is at the higher end of the pay scales here).

[nazareth]

Nazareth you might find it hard to believe, but when i visit by local bootleg software store, the people who spend the most are from the US and UK.

I don't find it hard to believe at all. Many of my countrymen are criminals. But I don't stoop to their level