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Woman ordered to pay $11 million in software piracy case | |
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| Time: 00:05 EST/05:05 GMT | News Source: Seattle PI | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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A woman described as a major player in a worldwide computer software piracy organization was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday and ordered to pay $11 million in restitution to software giants Microsoft and Symantec. Lisa Chen, 52, pleaded no contest to one count of failure to disclose the origin of a recording or product. She was one of four people arrested in November 2001 as part of a ring suspected of importing nearly $98 million in counterfeit computer products and software from Taiwan. "The counterfeit seized in this investigation was high-quality," said Pat Mueller, senior investigator with Microsoft. "It takes tremendous technical capability to do this." | ||
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| #1 By 4209 (67.97.216.252) at 11/25/2002 10:33:44 AM |
| #3, do you honestly believe that if piracy stops, MS will drop there prices? No they will keep them the same and be making more money. |
| #2 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at 11/25/2002 11:35:06 AM |
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It's a double edged sword.
Windows XP doesn't cost any less, despite the product activation there to protect against piracy. Microsoft could gain a lot of goodwill by lowering prices. |
| #3 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at 11/25/2002 1:55:56 PM |
|
stubear - I don't know. But I think the last time I recall seeing any reductions in pricing of Office suites and so forth was about 1993. That was when spreadsheets started becoming available for under $100, prior to this they were all $500-600.
The rebates are also only available in the first week the products are introduced, largely to spur initial sales figures. We know that we'll never see Office cheaper than when it is available at launch with the rebate, so we take advantage of the rebate... Most other products don't work that way, the longer you wait, the cheaper they get. I do agree that this is an unnatural market position. I also think we've seen the financials. Office has an 85% profit margin. They can afford to cut the price of the product in half. Keep in mind that cutting Office price by 50% doesn't mean suddely their profit margin goes to only 35%. By cutting the price, they will will also increase the number of copies that they sell. Software is a fixed initial cost. Once you've recovered that cost, all subsequent sales are mostly profit, so the more sales = larger profit margin. This cost model does tend to support a monopoly rather than many individual players, but I think there is give or take here. The monopoly does have a responsible to provide their tool for a lower cost, now that they have such a large sales base. If Office 11 professional upgrade costs more than say $150, I for one will not support any suggested upgrades to it. With Office XP I find no more reason to continue evolving this suite of tools. They need to do something radically different, such as my vision of an integrated Word/Visio solution that uses a totally new input paradigm other than keyboard/mouse.... i.e. something more akin to a whiteboard where you can draw and move pieces with your hand. Something which dramatically increased productivity and ease of use. Otherwise there is nothing new there. |
| #4 By 1845 (12.254.162.111) at 11/25/2002 2:03:47 PM |
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"If MS wan't charging so much (and making the unheard of 80+ percent profit on Office) there might not be as much piracy. "
Unheard of? No. http://money.cnn.com/2002/11/20/technology/techinvestor/briody/index.htm "...margins in the 80 percent range are not entirely uncommon in the software business. Oracle's overall gross margins are consistently around 80 percent, PeopleSoft hovers near 70 percent." |
| #5 By 7390 (198.246.16.251) at 11/25/2002 2:06:06 PM |
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Some comments!
1. how much less would cars have to cost before car theft is non existant? 2. There are some people who don't want to pay for anything no matter the cost. 3. Why would a price drop of 25% deter thieves (free is always better)? 4. Thank god for key gens. 5. I have a copy of office XP and you are telling me that I can't install it on the 3 PCs that I own. |
| #6 By 1845 (12.254.162.111) at 11/25/2002 2:38:57 PM |
| Maybe you are right, J. It seems though, that since Oracle faces stiff competition from both IBM and Microsoft, that perhaps competition wouldn't do as much good as you think it would. |
| #7 By 3653 (63.162.177.140) at 11/25/2002 3:42:38 PM |
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Great comments everybody. Its nice when a softball like this is lobbed, so that the Marxists () have a chance to take a swing... and be identified (nos482).
RedHook - excellent points! |
| #8 By 1845 (12.254.162.111) at 11/25/2002 4:10:51 PM |
| Ashcroft? I figure this is an issue for Senator McArthy. He saved us from the reds and pinkos once already. If only he were alive to do it again. |
| #9 By 7390 (63.211.44.114) at 11/26/2002 8:04:56 AM |
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One more thing!
with an 80% profit margin on software (not just MS but other companies also). Clearly theft is not affecting how much profit (percentage wise) they are making. So this notion of reducing the price if theft wasn't a factor is crap. I can see a software company saying "we were making 80% profit and now with theft being eliminated we are now making 80%+. Lets reduce that to say 50% by lowering the price." These companies are charging what they think the market can absorb. This is true of most products not just software. How much are you will to pay for a bar of soap? |
| #10 By 931 (66.156.4.206) at 11/26/2002 9:56:52 AM |
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86% in microsoft's case.. Redhook is on the ball with this one.
Haha you know for the most part a certain level of piracy helps microsoft. (course importing 100,000 copies.. jesus lady what were you thinking..) |
| #11 By 3653 (63.162.177.140) at 11/26/2002 11:27:07 AM |
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Funny how we are so cost-conscience with our software... but we'll pay $4+ for a $1 box of colorful cereal.
I guess it just feels wrong to think Tony The Tiger is taking advantage of us. |
| #12 By 7390 (63.211.44.114) at 11/26/2002 2:35:36 PM |
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$4? that is a bargain! I live New York city and a box of Fruit Loops is $5. A box of Corn Flakes is also $5. And to make matters worse I am so programmed to like the taste that I can't stand the generic brands :(
I don't see people say that a reduction in grocery store theft will cause a price reduction in Corn Flakes. I wonder what is the profit margin on cereal? can someone provide data. -good point mooresa56 |
| #13 By 3653 (63.162.177.140) at 11/27/2002 10:25:47 AM |
| RedHook, and think about all the security measures that the Grocery industry uses to stop theft. They are VERY intrusive... cameras around every corner, plainclothed security guards, special tagging of products, etc. Their methods are far more extreme than anything in that Microsoft employs. |
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