Online Piracy

I was worried about this when I first started getting into WSO's, but I have heard a lot since then that the piracy actually helps in the long run on their back end. There isn't a whole lot you can do to battle it, and you are exposing people to your name and products. The market of WSO downloaders arent typically WSO buyers...just the way I have come to see things

I believe you can fill out one of those notices. Not sure what they're called though. I think they're called DMCA notices.

Also, I've noticed that blackhat sites are relentless in reposting files that have a high demand. It seems once your file is out there, all they have to do is keep uploading to mirror links. Some of those mirror links, seem impossible to shut down. So honestly, I'm not sure how its done... when all they have to do is reupload them.

If it makes you feel any better, I've spent over $14,000 on pirated software synths & samples for music production. Software like omnisphere, trilogy, nexus, sylenth, absynth... any vst/sampler you can think of. In the last 10 years that is. I always download a pirated version of the software before I buy it. Because demos hide too many features, the same way blind copy hides the real "features" of a WSO. I need to know exactly what I'm paying for, or I won't pay for it.

Call me ignorant, but if I don't use the software, I ALWAYS uninstall it. Not just out of respect, but there are a thousand other reasons why. Like the fact that paid versions use less cpu and simply work better. I also believe that feature locking is a horrible way to market a product. Back in the day, when I use to do things legally, I passed up SO MANY great pieces of software, thanks to feature locking.

Ironically when I started using torrents, I started spending a lot more money.
Now, I doubt that everyone does this, but I have a lot of friends in music production who do. I can't make any comparisons to the WSO world, just voicing my experience in another niche. Musicians seem to be a different breed compared to marketers. For most musicians, music isn't about money. Its about respect, emotion, having loyal fans who love your music. Seems to be more comradery on music forums. With marketers, its about making money... sometimes at any cost.

However, there are still many details to consider. Too many to debate in 1 little thread. Like the viral effect thats created when someone downloads a good pirated product, then recommends that product to all their friends. I've downloaded pirated software, and immediately made threads online in music forums telling people "you need to buy this software immediately! listen to the sounds I just made with it!!" Before *I* even bought it myself lol. Thats how excited I would be. I also know, that tons of people buy software online based on forum recommendations. So piracy is a very complex topic imo. Even software like photoshop, I pirated first. It sat on my harddrive for months and months. Then when I learned the program, and started using it to sell designs, I took that money and bought a recent version.

I just can't say how many people are like that. =/