No End to Seasons Sale - CATIA Ansys for $2.2 Only

I had gone to Deccan area; one of the happening places in the Pune city this weekend. I saw a roadside CD and DVD seller. The pirate! Actually, I have seen pirates selling Hindi and English movies, games CDs few times on same place.   Many time in the past when Bollywood industry took objection on piracy the government started special drives to crab such pirates. However, the pirates flourish again within few weeks.

The street is famous spot for youngsters and food lovers with a lot of shopping options and hotels. Place is not famous for getting pirated software like few places in Mumbai. But this time, I was surprised to see them selling CATIA, Ansys and Pro/E software on footpath. Few years back; it was just difficult to get pirated software in Pune or any other small city in India. Mostly, locals from Mumbai use to bring the CAD software on demand from colleagues. That time only pirated AutoCAD and Pro/E were easily available within engineering students. In Mumbai also, the pirates never displayed licensed software on their table, we have to ask them for the required packages and follow them to some narrow paths and dark ways to get required software. But, selling openly on road is something shocking! I can’t think of conditions in Mumbai today.

 I was not able to control my enthusiasm to know the cost of these CAD packages. So, I went to the stall and started looking for new movies. Mean while I just asked him to show me the CATIA CD hanging there. I asked him about the price of CATIA. Happy, to know that whether CATIA or AutoCAD it costs same - just Rs.100 ($ 2.2). I looked at the CDs displayed; I was not able to see NX, Solid Edge and SolidWorks. So, I asked him for Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology. He was not able to understand ‘Synchronous Technology’ so he handed me bunch of CDs from a plastic bag kept under his table. I was surprised to see every CAD package, even Rhino. SolidWorks 2007.I was happy to see that he is not having SE ST. Otherwise I would have lost my Rs 100!

I told him that I am only interested in Solid Edge, but he insisted me to go for SolidWorks instead and said it’s similar and both are from same company. I smiled looking at him and though same company may be the one which produce such pirated CDs. He then told me to write my requirement in his dairy and said that he will arrange it within 4 days. That is even faster than service from CAD resellers. I feel he would make an excellent sales executive at any CAD reseller, actually lot of vacancies now!

Walking away from the stall I started thinking of why do people pirate software? May be because they can’t afford it! Or it is easily available with pirates. I think if students are using it one can understand that they want to learn it or use it for some academic projects. CAD vendors also understand that. But, still it can’t be supported. They can go for trial versions.

I can see lot of software donations made by CAD vendors to engineering colleges and Universities. One such news I read on CAD Professors blog few days back. Microsoft and Autodesk signed an agreement with the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to provide free software to over 10,000 engineering and architectural institutes in the country. I feel such moves from CAD vendors would definitely help to reduce software piracy at student level giving additional benefits to vendor.

                                               Board showing guarantee given on pirated CDs 

For, companies using pirated software I feel the price is main criteria to go for piracy. There are lots of excellent low cost or look-a-like 2D/3D CAD packages available now.

Few CAD vendors have also started campaign to spread fear amongst users of pirated software by sending mails to those who are their newsletter subscribers. But not able to hit real users of pirated software. I think the tendency of such users is to get software free of cost then paying even for low cost software. Such companies are not even afraid of civil and criminal law. Are they not aware about the efforts of CAD vendors in developing a CAD package?

CAD vendors are taking efforts to catch such users. One can see, Siemens PLM have taken a good initiative by providing a link on their website to report suspected piracy http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/piracy/index.shtml. So, if you feel your company or someone you know using Siemens PLM’s pirated product can report it. I don’t know how they work after they receive such complaints. I never heard about any news on catching users of pirated software.

Now, almost every company is having their offices in India, I feel CAD vendors must take combine efforts to talk to Government representative on piracy the way bollywood does after every six months. Few cities now even have cyber crime cell with trained officers who can help to raid on pirates.

Coming to best way to get pirated software is online downloads, Internet piracy. Downloading software using internet. Many portals are available to download crack versions of every CAD package. I mean sites like ‘Torrent' I don’t know how and who is going to catch whom for such sites. Even you get marine design package ‘Tribon’ for download on these sites. 

Only, thing I want to appeal is say “no to piracy"

Go for using free 2D/3D CAD packages available if your company can’t afford for high investments. There are good 2D packages like DraftSight available for free download. 

Will low cost 2D/3D Packages help to reduce piracy? thinking.... 

 I am definitely going to visit pirate again this week, let’s see whether he has got Solid Edge ST or not! If yes I will report it through link provided by Siemens PLM and see what action they take to catch him. Also you can report piracy to Business Software Alliance.