Company pirated software?

Question

I recently held a position in a small web store in the USA where almost all the software used daily was broken. My own IDE was paid, and I used the open source software personally there, but I still had to use MS Office and various Adobe products.

For many reasons, I found a new job, but I'm curious. What does the community think of this in companies that condone the use of stolen software? Should I report it immediately or just continue? It's one thing to make a personal decision to use stolen software, but how about your employees follow suit?

Answer 1

I would first apply the “powers that will be” in relation to this practice. If they refuse to listen, take it to the BSA or to someone who can handle it in your area.

The company that sells the product is calculated to pay for this product. I am sure that if the shoes were on the other foot (i.e. the company's product is pirated), they will pursue it. It is idiocy to think that you can sell a product, but deceive others from your own.

Answer 2

What they use is none of your business, because it does not affect you. If your personal workplace is 100% legal, they don’t ask you to use pirated software, pay you a salary, just work and don’t think too much.

If they ask you to use pirated software, you have two options: either agree, or become an accomplice, or reject. If in the latter case you are fired, you can use legal means to request compensation for lost time, income and other losses.

You got out of there and did the right thing. Enjoy life.

ADDED: The issue of moralizing the transformation of a company is not so simple. Morality varies from culture to culture. In some countries (mainly Western civilization) the transfer of information about each legislative act (even in the family / parents / children) to the authorities is a common practice. In other countries, this can be considered a very immoral act, when an actor loses his face / respect for others and even runs the risk of revenge (take seriously if your actions will ultimately ruin their business). I would personally think of a neutral position. If they do not ask you to personally use pirated software, and they suit you, answer in kind. If they ask you to use it, you will refuse, and they will kick you out, then you can go up to them and ask for compensation for the entire period until you find another place. If they don’t take it seriously, then you can think about whether the trouble is (say, you moved to another city, rented an apartment, and now you went out) or not (you just take one of the other job offers I hope I had). In any case, this decision is yours.

Answer 3

I was in this situation, but decided not to include them, because I was not sure if I was making an unbiased decision.

Answer 4

I would only spank if they pushed first, that is, forced me to use their pirated software or to face disciplinary actions. I personally do not have problems with software piracy, it is a fact of life in the industry in which we operate. But for a company to get you to use the software that they got illegally that day at an age when there are so many viable open source alternatives, a little.

If they just said, "here, use this illegally downloaded software if you want," and let me use other software, if I liked it, I just switched and forget about them.

Answer 5

I came across a similar case, and my decision was always to review my supervisor by asking an “innocent” question to make sure that he is known all the way.

When asked to take part in a seller’s fraud scheme, I emailed the company's lawyers asking if they think I can be prosecuted, and if so, whether they will pay for my defense.

Of course, when you do this, you ask to be fired. In this case, it was a fairly large company (publicly traded with multi-billion dollar market capitalization), and I had enough political capital, which forced them to correct their behavior and increase my bonus. But I did not count on it.

If it is already known to the very top, you need to decide whether you consider pirated software more unethical or be a rat. In those cases when I was engaged in a similar business, I just made sure that the policy was known to senior management. Also, in the case when I sent a letter to the lawyers of the company, I was asked to be an active participant and complained about the situation throughout the year. I was not just asked to look the other way.

Answer 6

My opinion is to report this. At the corporate level, if they want to use the software, rather than in an assessment situation, they have to pay for it simply and simply. The BSA has a good anonymous reporting scheme, and you can get rewarded.

Answer 7

This is a simple answer. The company does something different from the fact that there are beliefs in the nature of my character. I achieved only in this life, being honest and honest in my affairs.

I am leaving the company.

Answer 8

I worked in such a place in 2001. We were a small startup, hurting for money, etc. I brought to my boss the fact that the SQL and IIS servers were all pirated and we did not have licenses. Two weeks later I lost my job, no alienation. I called my lawyer, who, in turn, called my old boss and his boss, and I started 4 weeks. My lawyer did it as a favor.

I was cool with my boss when I picked it up. We were looking for VC, and I was of the opinion that if we were audited, we would look like a third online store.

In short, the company left a few months after I left, and my old boss is now in real estate, and I believe that he is not suitable for him, given the current market. All this is karma.

Answer 9

If it were a common thing, I would let it go; however, your case is more systemic. The fact that the company required the use of certain software is the most significant bit.

I would give this corporation a warning, and if they do not heed this warning, then include them in the BSA.

Answer 10

Using free software was, of course, the right way. In my opinion, one of the main points related to free software from wider acceptance among the general public is the lack of public respect for software licenses. If everyone suddenly began to obey the letter of their software licenses and the law, the user base set by the user would probably be reduced by half during the night.

As for the forced use of unlicensed software, it is tough. It is important that you make sure that everyone understands that what they are asking you to do is illegal, and you know that they are asking you to break the law (or help them break it). If they still insist on this, of course, the right thing should have come into place. People with children who feed and pawn money often feel that they have to do less harsh things. But we all like to think that we will do the “Right Thing”.

Answer 11

I'm not sure that I will have to “report” them to the BSA due to cultural issues and because the BSA, like the RIAA, does evil for a legitimate reason.

That being said, as a software developer, I may be more altruistic (or naive), and I feel more sensitive to the fact that software companies get paid. More software piracy means fewer jobs and lower pay for many of us and indirectly. I believe that the majority of business programs used by software companies are priced quite expensive, and that large companies such as MS have recently been more sensitive to the needs of small stores, rather than to huge enterprises in their licensing schemes and pricing. Licensing the most typical software should cost small fragments of employee costs.

In addition, there are sufficient acceptable alternatives if you prefer not to use basic products. If I ran a .NET development company, I would expect to pay for .NET.

There are cheaper alternatives. I would say that most of the PDFS that the average developer needs to generate can be created without adobe, there are cheaper alternatives. Therefore, perhaps the solution limits the amount of software available and pays for it.

Answer 12

I'll take the middle road: is this a lost sale? I find it hard to worry about piracy that does not reflect lost sales.

So, if the company is in red, would it be good if they moved on to red, probably out of business? However, if they are decent in the black case, the report on its growth becomes much stronger.

Since this is apparently a government agency, it will not be forced to leave its business by paying for this software, and moreover, I think that the government should be supported by a higher standard. Report this.

Edit: I DO NOT say this correctly, I say that if there is no lost sale, I do not see a big mistake in this.

Answer 13

I would quit, obviously.

I would not turn them on. There’s nothing for me. Only creating difficult feelings and possibly wasting time talking with the police or being a witness in court.

So, the plan of the highest expected value for me: 1) go out 2) forget it 3) use your time on productive things

Answer 14

I can’t determine where I work, except "this is a government agency."

It annoys me that many (perhaps most?) People in our IT department use a software product illegally every day ... everything from text editors to RDBMS.

While most of the software that I use at home is a “dubious line,” not a single software that I use at work, even remotely gray.

If I use your product (s) to earn a living, then I am fully responsible for ensuring that you receive a fair share of the fruits of our collaborative work. I could not do my work without tools, good tools. I pay for my tools, and I pay for good tools, like a carpenter.

There are good reasons why a DeWalt drill costs ten times more than the "equivalent" of Back & Decker. DeWalt works reliably !, which costs money for me and my customers.

Could you indulge a carpenter in stealing a ToolCity training? Why or why not?

Would you condone a programmer to “steal” a Borland compiler? Why or why not?

Could you indulge a starving peasant "stealing" deer from the Kings Park? Why or why not?

What are the differences?

What do you think will happen to manufacturers if most people think it's “fair enough” to steal the exercises? Who will break first? DeWalt or Back and Decker?

Greetings. Whale.

Answer 15

they should make more music, but they have very contrasting ideas about piracy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUgB0hNf0bs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkWKvMCzqA&NR=1

enjoy :)

Answer 16

As long as the company does not do anything that surrounds you, threatens others or puts you at legal risk (and using the software provided by the company, no matter how bad it is, you personally risk it) I think honestly that the company makes a request, and it would be unsuccessful and slimey to turn them on. Sorry, but we can say something moral and ethical, we want everything we want, but in the end it is just like your mother told you like a child - no one likes fairy tales.

Now, if your company asks you to use illegal software, and you have objected, and you strongly object to these objections, and the company chose to ignore them, then you should also consider leaving the company - not because of the software, but because your company clearly does not respect you.