Eric;

I agree with your comments and would like to add my thoughts on “protecting your source code”.

Security – this is a term that in fact does not exist. Having been in the Air Force Security Service I feel that any security system can be broken.

Copyright – if you have the funds and good attorneys, you may win. But then again, look at Napster! A different kind of software but copyrighted none the less. Just go to Asia and you can buy just about any computer software for a fraction of the cost we pay in the United States.

We can introduce the most elegant encryption we can afford to protect our data and source code (two different subjects), but if someone wants to “get into it” they will regardless of what we do. Granted it takes time which equates to money and is it really worth it? That depends! Why should we worry if someone is going to decompile our code? We are kidding ourselves if we think, “there is a perfect system” to protect our intellectual property.

Getting upset at software piracy will make you old before your time. There are far more serious issues we face every day and not much can be or is done about them. Take murder for an example.

Some recent statictics about murder in the United States. Only 49% of people who are murders are caught – and most of them are turned in by friends or family members and not by good police work. 28% of those who are “caught” are brought to trial – the others are released for a number of reasons (violation of rights, etc.). 13% are found guilty. So, if you want to kill someone, there is an 87% chance you will not be found guilty. Now I can sleep at night because I fully realize how well capital punishment has eliminated murder!

What are the chances that you will even realize your software has been pirated? What are the chances you will win in court? What will the cost be to win? Quien sabe? Who cares?


Tom