Apple and Their Big Legal Stick
There’s a great post over at DrunkenBlog which looks at the lawsuit that Apple has filed against college students for allegedly distributing an early build of Tiger (OS X 10.4) via the BitTorrent network. It’s a good read, with great points of view from prominent members of the Mac community, most notably Woz. Naturally, wishing myself to be prominent, though I’m not in any way, I’m going to throw my hat into the ring…
Does Apple have the right to protect their intellectual property? Yep. Does Apple have the right to go after those who are in violation of their licensing agreements? Yep. Does Apple have the right to pursue an individual for breaking a law that hurts them financially? Yep. Should Apple so completely crush an individual that the ramifications of that person’s actions will forever follow them where ever they go? Depends. Was there specific intent to do harm to Apple? If so, I say swing that Big Legal Stick. But if not, a slap on the wrist may be all that’s called for. Based on what I’ve read, there was only intent to do good (in a rather twisted way) on the part these individuals by sharing the OS with others in the Mac community, even if it did violate a license agreement of beta quality software.
Here’s a little something I’d like Apple to consider. Would they be able to guarantee that 100% of the workstations owned by them are completely free of software that doesn’t violate a licensing agreement in one manner or another? Or to put it another way, were the Business Software Alliance to visit 1 Infinite Loop tomorrow, would they find only legal software in use by everyone on the campus? Based on my own experience managing users and workstations for different companies, I honestly doubt it. There’s always some user who won’t follow the rules, no matter how hard you try to enforce them. More often than not, it’s the person responsible for keeping users in line who’s out of line. And if that is the case, then in my black and white opinion here, Apple should drop the lawsuit against these individuals. If, as a corporation in whole, they’re guilty of the same crime, there can be no basis for litigation.
As much as it sucks, software is rarely seen for what it really is — a separate entity from the hardware it resides on. There’s little distinction to most users where hardware stops and software begins. It is simply “my computer” to them. Viewed as such, software automatically lends itself to being copied. It’s the part that allows us to use our computers, which is why we bought them in the first place. Most people don’t realize that each time they copy an application from work to their home computer, “just to get a little work done over the weekend,” they’re probably breaking a license agreement. Each time you buy a new Mac, and use the disks that came with it to update the OS of different machine a year or two later, you’re blatantly breaking Apple’s license agreement. What? You didn’t realize that? See — it’s just not something that’s really thought about. And even when it is, it’s either justified with a “Who’s going to know?” or an “I already paid for it once. I own it.” Which brings up another point. Rarely do you “own” software. Rather, you’re just “licensing” the use of it from the person/company who really owns it. There’s a huge difference.
I’m all for paying for the software you use. Big and small developers alike work hard to bring their products to market, and it takes a lot of effort to get it to the point of public usability - something I’ve learned first hand. There was a time that I didn’t feel that way. When I was young and foolish, not unlike some college students today, I freely copied software as I saw fit - knowing full well what I was doing was wrong. It’s not something that I’m proud of, but I can’t write this piece and say that I’m not guilty myself. Because of that, I chose early on to make all software I develop donationware. You want it? Take it. Think it’s worth a few bucks? Great! Thank you very much for your generosity! Either way, I’ll never make anyone pay for the use of my software. I guess I’m just trying to make amends for my past, in a self-serving way.
Apple, why not give the kids a chance to learn from their mistake, since that’s what life is all about anyway? What good is it going to do to ruin the life of someone who’s only defense is ignorance? No harm, no foul. Just let it go and save the Big Legal Stick for the scum who duplicate your software on a mass scale, passing it off as real. Also, take the time to remember your own roots. If I recall, Apple was proud of the fact that it was based on the premise of “being a pirate” once itself.
Finally, kudos go out to Woz for stepping up and donating $1,000 to help with legal costs for “Sunny” Sambhara. Some might say it was done just to get good press. I totally disagree. To me it shows that he remembers exactly where he came from, and I respect him even more for that. I just wish I had the resources to do the same myself.
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