back to article China cuffs 60,000 pirates in 2013 crackdown

Police in China arrested just shy of 60,000 people suspected of copyright abuses last year, in cases worth 173 billion yuan (£17bn). A total of 59,222 perps involved in 55,180 cases were cuffed in 2013, according to Ministry of Public Security stats revealed by state-run newswire Xinhua. Some 1,260 criminal networks were …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. LarsG

    "China cuffs 60,000 pirates in 2013 crackdown"

    And sends them for re-education to learn how to do it correctly.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    mmmm

    I wonder....

    *Looks at torrents*....

    *checks active proxy server*....

    *Location: China*....

    .....

    Sorry guys!

  3. A J Stiles

    Remember Kids

    Remember, kids ..... When you make pirate copies of a major player's software (e.g. Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop) you aren't hurting the major players. You're hurting their competitors.

    Mom+PopSoft Ltd. produce Cheap Office 2014, which retails for £50. It's fine for Fred in the Shed to write letters, cooking recipes, manage home accounts and keep track of a CD collection. If nobody could get hold of a pirate copy of Microsoft Office for £0, they might be tempted to stump up the £50 for Cheap Office 2014, at least to see whether or not it does all they need. Meanwhile, a large contingent of Cheap Office 2014 users in the job marketplace would stand a good chance of convincing future employers to evaluate Cheap Office 2014 as a replacement for the Microsoft Office they thought they were going to have to buy.

    Mom+PopSoft Ltd. most probably will eventually go out of business -- and this will be entirely due to piracy, even although, counterintuitively, nobody need ever make a single pirate copy of a Mom+PopSoft Ltd. product.

    Similarly, I have no doubt in my mind that the GIMP would be perceived as a hell of a lot more powerful and user-friendly if it were not for the fact that Adobe Photoshop can be had for £0.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Remember Kids

      Aren't you forgetting about Libre Office, Open Office and a bunch of other freeware office software?

      "Mom+PopSoft Ltd. most probably will eventually go out of business -- and this will be entirely due to piracy"

      Doubt it.

    2. Dissident Void

      Re: Remember Kids

      Me thinks you are not familiar with the economics of living in China. Even at 50 Pounds sterling (500 RMB) that is cost prohibitive in China where the minimum wage is 160 Pounds Sterling (1620 RMB)

      Where the big player price is more like a years salary, in an environment where many people cant afford very much of anything at all. But if you are working towards a career in IT you simply cant access the tools you need to develop your career as they are cost prohibitive.

      1. A J Stiles

        Re: Remember Kids

        The point is, even if you don't want to pay for software, you don't have to use pirate copies of software.

        I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone caught using pirated software where an Open Source alternative is available -- and for that matter, precious little where one isn't.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Remember Kids

          "I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone caught using pirated software where an Open Source alternative is available"

          There isn't really an Open Source alternative to Microsoft Office for most users though. The products that do exist in that space are vastly inferior and not 100% compatible.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Remember Kids

      "If nobody could get hold of a pirate copy of Microsoft Office for £0, they might be tempted to stump up the £50 for Cheap Office 2014,"

      Versus Office 365 @ £79 for a year for 5 full licences - and cloud options?! I doubt it in most cases.

  4. Tromos

    BSA statistics

    They probably include everyone running Open Office under Linux. Didn't pay anything for it, must be a shoulder-mounted parrot merchant. Chalk up another couple of thousand smackers lost due to piracy.

    1. I. Aproveofitspendingonspecificprojects

      Re: BSA statistics

      Noby ha many fair tial.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: BSA statistics

      "Chalk up another couple of thousand smackers lost due to piracy."

      Yes sounds about right if they counted all 10 users of Linux / Open Office....

  5. Mark 85

    It's more than software

    Yes, we in IT seem to have the blinders on but the reality is, China seems to rip off any and every industry they can. I've seen this first hand in the hobby industry where a Chinese company will rip off plans from a legit manufacturer (one who paid to have the plans developed). They then produce a product from crap materials with crap tolerances and foist on e-bay, amazon, and anywhere else they can. Once the purchaser wises up, they stick with the legit suppliers but meantime, the damage has been done and the Chinese company has pocketed some chunk of someone's hard earned dosh.

    These numbers released from the "authorities" are eye-wash and feel-good numbers. They barely scratch the surface. From car and aircraft parts, to books, electronics, hobby bits, tools, you name it, they're copying it and you're getting crap for your money.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like