Just read this article at Sonicstate news

Crackdown On The Cracks
Waves get heavy with unauthorised users of their plug-ins 09-Aug-07




If you have already listened to this week’s Sonic Talk podcast you’ll know about this one – Waves has instigated a series of investigations aimed at discovering unauthorised users of its software and collecting payment from them.

Our friends at Pro Sound News Europe have an exclusive story on this one. They tell us that Waves has employed undercover agents posing as musicians trying to book time at various UK and US studios and, in the process, gathering evidence of the use of unlicenced or ‘cracked’ copies of Waves software. Secret video footage has been gathered and several users of the software have received an official letter from Waves’s collection agents offering them the chance to pay Waves the cost of the original plug-ins, plus a substantial extra sum on top, or face legal action.


At least six well known London studios and an educational establishment are known to be involved with visits from the Waves’ agents taking place earlier this year followed up by solicitor’s letters. Waves have confirmed that the investigations have taken place as part of BanPiracy, a continuing global campaign.


This is story that is going to run on over the next few weeks. We will be keeping abreast of developments but you can check out the Pro Sound News Europe website for the full story and hear their Editor, Dave Robinson, discussing the matter in today’s Sonic Talk 055 podcast.



More information:


www.prosoundnewseurope.com

This really doesn't affect most of use here (hopefully) but if some strange guy is looking over your shoulder at your next session you'll know why.

Hmmm - that doesn't seem like a very cost-effective way of recouping lost sales when one considers the cost of hiring undercover clients, purchasing spycams, paying the studio for their time to be there spying on them, pursuing legal actions, etc., but I assume that Waves did a thorough cost-benefit anaylsis before proceeding with this scheme... One can only assume that any losses accrued from this crackdown will be passed on to its legitimate customer base.

And you guys were worried about George Bush and the Partiot Act?

I'm sure the "substantial extra sum" will more than cover it.

Hmmm - that doesn't seem like a very cost-effective way of recouping lost sales when one considers the cost of hiring undercover clients, purchasing spycams, paying the studio for their time to be there spying on them, pursuing legal actions, etc.,

But it's probably nothing to do with recouping lost sales, it's to do with avoiding many more future lost sales, since it will make professional outfits a lot less likely to use a ripped off copy in the future. The whole reason that IP theft is so wide spread is that there are no consequences and almost chance of getting caught. A fairly light chance of getting caught keeps theft in other industries down to a few percent of revenues.

I suspect that the news itself will have an effect without Waves paying a cent.

I confess to being somewhat amazed that a pro studio would even consider using unlicensed software. The expense is used to reduce the business' taxable income so where's the long-term advantage ?

There's an easy way to avoid these problems.

Purchase the software you use.

Weird studio's are using cracked software. Cracked software is of course wrong, but to use it to make money is even worse.

ORIGINAL: cryophonik
Hmmm - that doesn't seem like a very cost-effective way of recouping lost sales ...

The cops set out a cruiser by the highway to monitor for speeders. They'll only catch a few, but then everybody else slows down - at least for a while.

There's no way a company's going to stop all theft of their intellectual property, but I think these guys are smart to do what they're doing. If there's a chance you'll get caught and ruin your professional reputation and your opportunity for future income, you'll think twice before using a burned copy.

I've made my living off of software for the last three decades, so I take a pretty dim view of piracy. When I think of all the person-hours that go into creating this stuff, a few hundred bucks per copy isn't much to ask.

I've made my living off of software for the last three decades, so I take a pretty dim view of piracy. When I think of all the person-hours that go into creating this stuff, a few hundred bucks per copy isn't much to ask.

Me also. But you know that there's this whole mythology out there of the evil corporation and lots of attitudes that verge on the communist really. You see it in any threads where a software manufacturer tries to do something about the widespread theft of their product.

And you guys were worried about George Bush and the Partiot Act?

Is an example. Their protecting themselves against theft of their product is the equiv of the Patriot Act. And that's a relatively mild attitude relative to a lot that I've seen. Combine that with a completely casual attitudes towards theft of IP, and the situation is not good, and that's why we have dongles and various aother annoyances. People who wouldn't even dream of walking into a store and stealing something will spend hours in an online forum trying to rationalize why they steal music and software and how it's really good for those industries that this is happening.