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Software is one of the most amazing products around. It is so valuable, making people like Bill Gates the richest people ever, yet it is so intangible. Yes you can touch a disk or CD-ROM but you can't actullay get a grip on what is in there. The labor of hours of work, a construction of elegance and innovation.
This has benefits and drawbacks. People often lose sight of the work that goes into programs, making it easier for them to copy it illegaly without second thoughts. Copying clothes or cars, stealing the actual objects or their designs is frowned upon, for example the affair with the Marks & Spencer swimsuit which went to court. Yet it is generally accepted that copying a program is ok.
This state-of-affairs isn't helped by the huge numbers of demos, free programs and shareware available on the Net and cover discs. Games companies, in particular, are finding it very troublesome as people are becoming less willing to buy games as they can play to their hearts' content on demos. Getting the balance right on a demo is difficult. Too much gameplay and people won't pay for more, too little and people won't get a chance to really 'taste' the game.
So how can electronic commerce and the Net get involved in this dilemma? See Part 2.
