it's about copyright and piracy from moral and legal standpoints

1. Copyright and piracy from moral and legal standpoints

2. What is Copyright and Piracy? Copyright The legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work. Piracy The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material: software piracy. The operation of an unlicensed, illegal radio or television station .

3. Why there is piracy? There must be reasons for piracy. Piracy is committed by people for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons for this act are identified below: (a) To enjoy services or entertainment at low cost prices or no cost to the consumers. A lot of consumers download music, videos, games, softwares from the internet because they want to enjoy the services or entertainment without having to incur high costs as is the case when purchased through the high street store

4. (b) For Profit Competitive Advantage they seek for financial gains and rewards through sales of pirated materials at competitive prices to those sold for original copies on the internet or high street store. (c) Sabotage People use piracy as a means to sabotage businesses of opponents or competitors in order to intentionally frustrate and ruin the rivals business .

5. What is the law? Malaysia’s Copyright Act 1987 came into effect on 1 December 1987, replacing the Copyright Act 1969. The 1987 Act confers copyright on and protects computer programs (software). The 1987 Act was amended in 1990 to ensure compliance with the prescribed standards and minimum requirements under the Berne Convention. The Copyright (Application to other Countries) Regulations 1990 came into force on 1 October 1990, the day Malaysia acceded to the Berne Convention Reference from http://w3.bsa.org/malaysia/antipiracy/Piracy-and-the-Law.cfm

6. Who benefits from copyright law? By protecting the investment of computer software companies in software development, the copyright law promotes broad public availability of new, creative and innovative products. These companies devote large portions of their earnings to the creation of new software products and they deserve a fair return on their investment. The creative teams who develop the software -- programmers, writers, graphic artists and others -- also deserve fair compensation for their efforts. Without the protection given by our copyright laws, they would be unable to produce the valuable programs that have become so important to our daily lives: educational software that teaches us much needed skills; business software that allows us to save time, effort and money; and entertainment and personal productivity software that enhances leisure time. reference from http://www.siia.net/piracy/faq.asp