Cadalyst - September 2008 - (Page 16)

techtrends Can you protect the software developers’ intellectual property without infringing on the consumer’s rights? necessarily the end of it. Autodesk plans to appeal the decision. subscription rather than sale protects it from issues related to software resale. In his blog, William Patry, Google’s senior copyright counsel, explained, “As a license, the First Sale doctrine doesn’t apply, meaning copyright owners can prevent further distribution of the copy.” He added that the claim by some software companies that the transaction is not a sale “is an absurd position to me. . . . Having made a sale at full value, there is no reason to let copyright owners preclude a rightful possessor of a copy from disposing of that copy, and no reason to force the rest of us to buy only new copies.” On Cadalyst’s CAD Managers Discussion Forum (www.cadalyst.com/ forums), Ian Carnow from Neil Carnow AIA Architect reasoned, “IP needs to be treated more like regular property. It’s unfair to the original purchasers of the software [if you] limit their ability to use the software and their options for resale and upgrade. Most businesses and people aren’t pirates. They don’t want several illegal copies of software; they just want fair prices and the ability to reuse or resell their seats.” Sales vs. License Autodesk declined to be interviewed for this article. But the company, which belongs to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), pointed to BSA’s policy as a reflection of its position. In BSA’s view, “What a lot of people don’t realize or don’t think about is that when you purchase software, you are actually purchasing a license to use it, not the actual software. . . . If you make more copies of the software than the license permits, you are pirating.” Autodesk’s rival SolidWorks, also a BSA member, shares this view. Jeff Ray, SolidWorks CEO, said, “This is a sound policy. Most people have no problem abiding by it, except the few who want to make a profit at the expense of others who abide by the law.” He believes Autodesk has every right to appeal and “a higher court will make a more rational, intelligent decision.” Software resale doesn’t pose a significant threat to enterprise software providers such as Arena Solutions. The Arena Solutions software code configured for GM’s operations, for example, cannot be reused by Toyota without significant rework. Nevertheless, Arena Solutions vice-president of marketing, Douglass Bell, admits he too is troubled by the recent court ruling. “The software economy depends so much on IP protection,” he said. “My guess is a higher court would overturn [Judge Jones’] decision.” But, he added, Arena Solutions’ model of licensing enterprise software for use by ago, they were a lot more aggressive, but they’ve pretty much backed down on it,” he recalled. An eBay search by product names on July 2 also revealed 122 items listed for AutoCAD (figure 1) and 28 for SolidWorks awaiting final bids. In the mix are training CDs and unregistered versions of the software. These items present a headache for the developers who feel the unsanctioned transactions are depriving them of their dues. According to eBay policy, if you want to list a digital item for sale, you must be “the owner of the underlying IP or authorized to distribute it by the IP owner.” SolidWorks’ Ray revealed he has a full-time employee dedicated to monitoring and preventing the trading of his company’s software on eBay. “We have to watch it all the time because eBay doesn’t watch itself,” he said. Genie Unleashed Vernor added, “Autodesk and eBay are both industry leaders. Because there’re lots of competing products and newer products, people are going to resell their old software. So vendors like Autodesk really need to look at how they treat software users.” Arena Solutions’ Bell thinks opensource software might emerge as one outcome of the tug of war between IP protection and consumer rights. “But people are still trying to figure out the right business model for open-source software,” he observed. New York architect Carnow said, “Technology is blurring the lines of traditional marketing and sales models. Now that property is digital, it is potentially unlimited — and you can’t put that genie back in the bottle.” You can place a bid over the wire at eBay with a single click, but when the auctioneer’s virtual gavel drops, do you know exactly what you’ve bought? Bits and bytes are quickly replacing the more tangible — and the less easily duplicated — books and tapes, so our commerce practices and legal principles may be overdue for an upgrade too. Kenneth Wong is Cadalyst’s executive editor. eBay’s Role Ironically, software sales seem to constitute merely a fraction of Vernor’s eBay business. On July 2, his virtual storefront listed 4,098 auction items. Most of them were vintage comics: plastic-sealed copies of The Incredible Hulk or Captain America from the 1960s and 1970s (going for $250– $350 each). With the exception of 150 computer games, the only thing remotely resembling software in his list was a PC-based tool for learning French. Nevertheless, he considered his time and effort on the case well spent. Vernor said, “I felt I had to take a stand somewhere. I just decided this case was where it would be.” He had a similar encounter with Microsoft over a previous auction item. “Several years Editor’s note: We invite you to share your thoughts on this issue. To discuss it, please visit the CAD Manager’s Perspective on Software Resale (or) Piracy thread of the CAD Managers Discussion Forum at www.cadalyst.com/ forums. 16 www.cadalyst.com cadalyst September 2008 http://www.cadalyst.com/forums http://www.cadalyst.com/forums http://www.cadalyst.com/forums http://www.cadalyst.com/forums http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - September 2008

Cadalyst - September 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central Tech Trends: Genie Out of the Bottle Cadalyst Labs Reviews: Big Tools for Big Jobs — Wide-Format Scanners and Printers Make Small Work of Large Projects Cadalyst Labs Reviews: AutoCAD 2009 — General-Purpose CAD Software Cadalyst Labs Reviews: AecBatchStylesEditor 2009 — CAD Standards Management Software for AEC Cad manager: Synchronize CAD Files over a Wide Area MCAD Modeling: Is 2D Drawing Doomed? Plm Strategies: More Bang for Your Truck Aec Insight: Works and Plays Well with Others Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Hot Tip Harry: VBA Hints for Customizing AutoCAD

Cadalyst - September 2008

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