On 02.03.2010, at 21:19, Scott Ribe wrote: >> the binaries that they offer for download are byte-for-byte the same as the >> downloads on your website, it's probably legitimate. > > Not if they have no permission to distribute the software. Granted it's not > as sleazy as distributing cracks or keys, but it's still infringing, and > trading on our goodwill to shove ads in front of users.
Again, it depends. Linking isn't illegal. If they're a search engine that links to your site, that's legal AFAIK. If they provide a cache service for pay, that's technically the same as a proxy server, so while I'd prefer personally that they don't do that, it's in a grey area, and at least they're generally not causing me damage. Of course, some are really just proxies, but make their money by giving the impression of being an actual purchase, which then causes you support hassle when users come to you complaining they bought your app and now it times out. If you have a distribution contract with them, you'll know that. But some are resellers that list all sorts of products, then purchase valid licenses from you as needed. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. Also, some such resellers sell to audiences you otherwise wouldn't reach, handling special payment schemes and receipts the government requires etc. But usually, those sites don't cause much damage, unless one of the shadier ones ranks above you on Google. The ones that interest you are sites that make it easy to get illegal copies. If a license key is out in the clear, you don't want that, blacklist it in the next release. If a cracked version can be downloaded at a click, you don't want that. Try to get the ISP to remove it or release a next version with changes that break the means they used to crack your app. If a keygen is up somewhere, change your scheme. Leaving up a broken/old keygen is actually a good thing, because people looking for a key for the new one will get additional "noise" in their search results. Cheers, -- Uli Kusterer "The witnesses of TeachText are everywhere..."
