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Introduction
Software manages our life. You find software today not only on office PCs and in children’s rooms but also
embedded in every day machines – starting with the simple coffee maker, where a programmable controller
interprets the bar code of an inserted pad, and then controls water quantity and temperature, up to knitting
machines big enough to fill a warehouse. More often than not, the know-how is included in the controlling
software.
However, the ubiquitous nature of software also has its down side. Software is easily digitally copied. The
resulting pirated copy has the same quality as the original software. In the case of a stand-alone software
application, the copy pirate is able to sell the software after investing only of few cents for a blank CD and
booklet, indistinguishable from the original, and – way below the market price. This has become a very lucrative
business model which is, according to statistics, extremely wide spread in Asia, but in a strict sense is a global
phenomenon.
Where the software is linked with a machine or a control system, the electronic and mechanical parts are copied
one-to-one. Again, the material investment for the counterfeit copy is much smaller than the development costs
for the manufacturer. Often, the machine owner who uses the pirated copy does not even notice that it is not an
original machine, because next to features, the branding is also copied. The manufacturer does not find out
about the pirated copy until the machine owner has a support ticket, and is not listed as a customer.
Next to pirated copies, outright plagiarized products are also a bigger-than-expected problem. In this case, the
know-how is extracted from the product by the competition using reverse engineering, and then reused in their
own product. This drastically reduces the R&D costs of the competition, and helps them to catch up a market lag
with a giant leap.
The more that code segments are written in programming languages which generate a readable temporary
code, e.g. .NET or Java; the easier it is to reverse engineer the completed application. Using state-of-the-art
tools re-readable source code is generated from the application. But also applications written on C. C++ or
Delphi are not immune to reverse engineering.
Logically, it is essential that product-integrated R&D efforts get protection against counterfeiting and plagiarism.
This is critical for a company that wants to keep its market edge, and realize its sales potential.
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