Welcome to the Software Copy Protection, Licensing and Activation "Viewpoint" site.
On this site we aim to help you understand the Anti Piracy business in an impartial and factual way - without marketing hype - just 25 years of experience and feedback from Software Developers using this technology on the ground.
Copy protection is vital for any software development company that wants to preserve its investment. With industry statistics stating that 36% of all software in use is illegitimate, the stakes are high, and companies that fail to mitigate these losses risk losing valuable R&D funds that could hinder their chances to compete in the future.
Yet copy protection tools are not all created equal.
Finding a tool that balances ease of deployment, ease of customer use and adequate security can be difficult. Issues such as reliability, support, ease of deployment and ease of use loom large, and any company not considering these factors when purchasing copy protection for their products risks more than ineffective copy protection.
Disgruntled customers, high support overheads and irrevocable damage to their corporate image could result.
When considering the ROI on any copy protection tool, purchase cost is therefore not the only figure that should be included in the calculation. These other issues must also be weighed up. Tangible costs such as postdeployment support can be mitigated by choosing the right tools, but there are other, imponderable costs.
Using inadequate tools that degrade the customer experience by erasing licenses unnecessarily can damage a company's image and generate bad feeling. The effect of inadequate copy protection tools on ongoing sales can only be estimated in broad terms.
Henry Roberts
CTO, Nalpeiron
To learn more, start with our article on:
What End Users want from copy protection solutions
Contact us now for a free 20 minute obligation-free consultation (normally $100) to discuss your project and to get impartial advice on the best solution for you. Email us now at consult@nalpeiron.com with your contact details and we will schedule a call with a consultant.
About the Author:
Henry Roberts helped develop one of the first general purpose computers at Monroe Calculator in the 1970s. The thesis for his MSc at the University of South Carolina's graduate school in Computer Science helped Apple Computer to adapt its own copy protection system. Henry’s thesis was responsible for defeating Locksmith, a technology that was known for being able to circumvent any copy protection
technology on the Apple platform.
After obtaining his MSc in 1981, Henry worked on further Apple copy protection technology at Sensible Software. In 1983 he started his own company, AST, to create custom copy protection solutions. He is one of the most well respected and knowledgeable people in the World in relation to Software Copy Protection with over 25 years of hands-on experience with every type of operating system and development platform.
In 2002 Henry devised a new copy protection technology that led to the development of PRO-Tector™ and its Pat. Pending Protect-n-Forget (PnF) technology™. AST and Nalpeiron worked together to produce the new products until 2004, when Nalpeiron acquired AST.
