There was an interesting article in Information Week regarding the state of piracy and whether piracy represents a market failure.

In the piece, the various remedies for software companies are outlined and various pundits chime in with opinions about the cause of piracy, missing many points. Understanding why piracy exists as a phenomenon needs to be better understood, but it should be up to academics, not me and other pundits, to determine the causes. Where is the great sociological study of piracy and the mentality behind it?

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Let me outline some things I’ve observed over the years and maybe it will trigger an academic to look at the situation objectively. It’s important because piracy is considered normal and ethical in some settings—where low-income or folks with no income have access to technology, but simply cannot afford the software.

Here is my outline of the roots of piracy.

1. Price
Some software is simply too expensive and users sense that they are being ripped off. The record companies would never lower their prices for a CD that only had one good song. I think this was part of the reason that music piracy became a cultural phenomenon. Often when a good album with many good songs was discovered by people, they would buy the album, rather than pirate it. Windows is at risk of this phenomenon, as it has become very expensive, while Linux, by comparison, is free.

2. Distribution
In the early days of piracy, you could travel to some parts of the world where there was no distribution, so people openly copied the software. They had no choice.

3. Marketing
Software is pirated in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge manner to open up a market, so people can use or play with the software, get used to it, and then buy it later. WordStar became a market leader because of this phenomenon. Microsoft Windows is still more popular in China for the same reason. I once asked an Asian audience about the popularity of Linux, and they all said it will never be popular in Asia as long as Windows is free.

There is not much beyond these three reasons for piracy. There are political rationales and other questionable reasons, but for the most part, it boils down to price and availability. Most content and code in today’s world is over-priced, and everyone, except Steve Ballmer, knows this.

The real problem with piracy, again, is sociological. If an entire generation becomes acculturated to the free exchange of content and code, then the industry is doomed or it will have to cut back on its First Class Travel and rethink its models. Moaning and groaning about piracy will not stop it.

This is all exacerbated by the ease in which piracy can take place. The digital world of high speed connections and peer-to-peer sharing make it an effortless process with very little risk. They talk a big game about cracking down, and then a few old women are busted for having Kazaa running on their machines because they don’t know any better. But there is no real crackdown.

Microsoft and other software companies do their best with registration codes and “calling home” features to maintain the integrity of their products, but these are cracked overnight in the back alleys of Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. I’m sure I can openly buy a copy of CS5 at a store in Asia for $1 on disk.

I’m not sure what can be done about all this, but it does need careful study, not more columns.