9/1/1982 Back up or back offTo Terry Bradley of Sirius, who says that the people who market nibble copiers are crooks,
I say that they are providing a support to my rights as a purchaser and owner that Sirius and other companies that copy protect have thwarted. They do not mean to thwart it, but I am not obligated to respect their copy scheme either. It boils down to this: The publishers have a property right and I am obligated to buy from them rather than steal. Once I have bought, then I have a right to use what I bought without it being a time bomb. This means backup. The publisher has a right to copy protect if he wants, but the purchaser has a right to know that one of his rights as an owner is excluded. Do you advertise on the package that your software is copy protected, Mr. Bradley? Finally, if software is copy protected, I see no obligation binding me not to touch that protection scheme. Right on to Locksmith and the nibble copiers. They open up a right that the publishers have foreclosed. I'm sorry that some people abuse these tools and use them to steal, but they also have a legitimate use, the opportunity for which Mr. Bradley, among others, creates. I'm not going to be morally outraged by Locksmith. I am obligated to Mr. Bradley's property rights, not to Mr. Bradley's intentions. I'll buy from Penguin and honor Mark Pelczarski's rights, and his request not to steal. I won't buy from Sirius unless I have to, and if I do have to buy from Sirius, my next purchase will be Locksmith. Peter Fallon, Philadelphia, PA - V3N1 Comments are closed.
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