Software Piracy and Christianity

Actually, I don't know the stand of Christian groups with regards to piracy.  Maybe I can be enlightened someday.  But still, I've always been curious.

In 2005, I got some ideas regarding a few Christians' thoughts on copyright.  It's a very misinformed It's Only Bad If You Sell Those DVDs, or music CDs, or whatever.


I tried to glean a better idea in a CCF retreat I joined in 2006.  In one of those parts where you share your experiences, I talked about my actions then of recent years towards respecting intellectual properties: purchasing copies of the ubiquitous MS Windows XP for each of our computers;  investing a scary amount for an Autodesk Inventor license; and standardizing on open source software (such as OpenOffice.org, PDF Creator, 7-zip, Inkscape, and GIMP) for our company use, etc.  My premise: piracy seems all too easy, but I want to do the right thing.  The response I got from the facilitator was that he understood my challenges even though he doesn't have the same weakness.  Here must be another guy.  Maybe I'm being too doubtful after all.  Not much data gathered.

In 2007, still a bit active in CCF, I got the chance to ask about it in what I hoped is a circumspect way.  I received an email with Excel attachments regarding preparations for a seminar series.  I took the bait and requested a PDF version, as I don't have MS Excel to read it.  (I omitted telling them that I already used OpenOffice to see the attachment, nor that Microsoft has their own free Excel viewer.)  Except for an echo of my request, it got nowhere.  I guess they were expecting everyone to read it just fine.  Which I'm pretty sure everyone can. 

I do have a good friend who's very active in CCF who, spurred to be as Christ, went all the way to purchase his very own MS Windows XP and MS Office for his home use.  But I have this feeling he's more the exception.


I also know another CCF member to whom I wrote business software for company use, who has not a plan to legalize on their software use, expensive as they are.  Since she's a friend, I'm unfortunately willing to discount my services for consultation, assistance, and software development.  But the way she asks for discounts tells me she doesn't see much monetary value in software.  It's hard to imagine how a company like hers can feel too poor to have to license software properly.  I guess for a lot of businesses, no matter what the Bible says, bottom line is money.  Actually I don't know what the Bible says.  But if it's illegal, it must be bad.  (Especially now that there are alternatives.)

I hear a lot of good things about Bill Gates from CCF folks.  His foundation has done so much good for humanity.  I hope they do him more good too.  By respecting what brought him to wealth and altruism, respect for intellectual property.


As for me, it's not due to any religion or relationship that I would see value in intellectual property, but because it's my profession.  As a programmer, it's the golden rule.