Is this stealing adobe photoshop? Moral conundrum

[Hero in a half shell]

Hi everyone, I've been visiting the escapist for quite a while but never posted anything... ...until now.

The problem is that I need to get Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign for my university course and that will cost a fortune, However, I know a guy (you can probably see where this is going)who has all these, and he could give me them for free by copying his onto my laptop and then changing the product key code thing (or something like that).

So my first question is, is this legal.

I'm certain it isn't but hey, if I'm wrong I'll save £230, I was also wondering what the difference was in the student and teacher edition of Creative Suite 5, mainly is there some sort of restrictions on it or time limit.

 

[Jedoro]

I'm pretty sure that's illegal, or people would make their own product keys all the time after the one person bought the programs.

As for the differences, I don't know.

 

[DazZ.]

If you're a student I'm almost certain your uni can give them to you for free.

At least everyone I know who uses it got it from their unis.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

It's more the licence usage than anything else I think unless I used a different version. I believe you cannot use student professionally though. (I have never been asked about the legitimacy of my programs, but been asked hundreds of times by clients where to get them illegally)

It is absolutely illegal but understandable. If and when you work professionally though you NEED a licence.

 

[knhirt]

You're learning. Don't worry about it.

Once you start making money by using Photoshop, then it's time to pay up.

Until then, just focus on getting to the point where you're in a position to make that sort of money.

 

[Danzaivar]

It's not illegal for you to let him do that. It is illegal for him to do that though. So his problem not yours, technically.

I'd just buy the licensed version though if you want to be safe. Pretty sure you wouldn't get into trouble if you did that, but I can't recommend it.

 

[Danish rage]

You're learning. Don't worry about it.

Once you start making money by using Photoshop, then it's time to pay up.

Until then, just focus on getting to the point where you're in a position to make that sort of money.

That must be the wisest thing iv´e read all morning.

Quoted because it´s the only post needed in this thread.

And i suspect it´s SOME of the key to our piracy problem.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

You're learning. Don't worry about it.

Once you start making money by using Photoshop, then it's time to pay up.

Until then, just focus on getting to the point where you're in a position to make that sort of money.

^ this

Let's be honest, anyone with interest in the graphics field has probably pirated Photoshop at one point or another.

Adobe is one of the few companies that probably benefit from piracy (though I'm certain they'd never admit it). If it weren't for piracy, most people would never be exposed to Photoshop.

Also just throwing this out there, student copies are relatively cheap, and student loans exist for exactly this sort of thing.

 

[Timmibal]

Adobe is one of the few companies that probably benefit from piracy (though I'm certain they'd never admit it). If it weren't for piracy, most people would never be exposed to Photoshop.

I can't find the reference now, but there was someone not too long ago from Adobe who said basically this. That they really didn't mind students pirating their products because it meant when they entered the workforce, that would be the program they knew how to use, and thus the company they were working for would spend assloads on corporate licenses for it.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Can't you get a student liscense for all of this? I'm sure they give them out, and you can renew them as long you're still in class.

 

[Weaver]

It's illegal, but considering the NON student versions of Creative Suite costs about $2000 USD £230 isn't too bad.

 

[Baneat]

It is indeed illegal.

Adobe is one of the few companies that probably benefit from piracy (though I'm certain they'd never admit it). If it weren't for piracy, most people would never be exposed to Photoshop.

Please don't excuse theft and crime.

With your counterargument being? All I'm gonna say is you've only asserted what you think, there's no reason to believe you.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

It is indeed illegal.

Adobe is one of the few companies that probably benefit from piracy (though I'm certain they'd never admit it). If it weren't for piracy, most people would never be exposed to Photoshop.

Please don't excuse theft and crime.

With your counterargument being? All I'm gonna say is you've only asserted what you think, there's no reason to believe you.

?

My counterargument to what? It being a illegal? It is... What more do you need.

To my statement regarding excusing crime? If you need to hear why making excuses for stealing is stupid, I cannot help you.

Piracy only hurts a company if a pirated copy results in a lost sale. Consider that most hobbyist, teenagers, etc can't afford the price tag on Creative Suite. They might pirate a copy, but they are not hurting the company in the slightest because had they not been able to pirate it they would simply not use it. Since the property here is digital the company does not experience a loss as they would had it been a material good that was stolen.

As mentioned earlier, if Adobe's software was not pirated, then they would not not have nearly the exposure they currently do. Photoshop, through piracy, has become a standard -- something which it could never do otherwise because of its hefty price tag. So yes, someone might pirate PS when they are a student or a hobbyist, but the very moment they break into the field, because of their past experience with PS, they will buy it. This is why Adobe and other software companies making professional grade tools can charge pretty much whatever the fuck they want.

If piracy didn't exist, Adobe sales would likely preform worse because the competition (all of which is significantly cheaper or free) would have a stronger presence. Fact is, if you're in the graphics field, you own at least one Adobe product -- you might even prefer something else -- but their products have become a standard so you own it anyways.

So yes, piracy is illegal; but not all things that are illegal are bad. Adobe has prospered because of this illegal activity, of course being a huge company they can't exactly endorse such a thing, but they aren't exactly trying real hard to combat it either despite their press releases.

This is a far cry from the piracy of other types of software such as games where piracy can directly impact sales negatively. Adobe doesn't exactly relay on non-professionals to buy it's professional grade software. On the other hand gaming companies do count on computer savvy teenagers to buy their game.

You've got some growing up to do kid.

 

[Baneat]

It is indeed illegal.

Adobe is one of the few companies that probably benefit from piracy (though I'm certain they'd never admit it). If it weren't for piracy, most people would never be exposed to Photoshop.

Please don't excuse theft and crime.

With your counterargument being? All I'm gonna say is you've only asserted what you think, there's no reason to believe you.

?

My counterargument to what? It being a illegal? It is... What more do you need.

To my statement regarding excusing crime? If you need to hear why making excuses for stealing is stupid, I cannot help you.

Yes. I need a LOT more than "it's illegal", but the condescension and ad hominem attacks are appreciated, especially when I'm trying to stimulate some form of intelligent discussion. If being illegal is moral grounds not to do something, we would have gotten nowhere, we as a society would never have escaped the religious hellhole of days past.

All I asked was some form of structured argument, you've given me fuck all in your first and last post, we don't need unsupported opinions in a forum, it has no value besides from "this guy thinks that".

Whether I agree with you? irrelevant, maybe I do, maybe I don't, how can I know? You've presented nothing.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Photoshop new can cost over $1000 USD. However Student Versions can cost less than half that, if they're available.
(Student Versions have all the features of the full copy, however you can not use what's produced on them to derive a profit. As long as a Student copy would be used for Schoolwork or recreational use, it would be legal)

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

As mentioned earlier, if Adobe's software was not pirated, then they would not not have nearly the exposure they currently do. Photoshop, through piracy, has become a standard -- something which it could never do otherwise because of its hefty price tag. So yes, someone might pirate PS when they are a student or a hobbyist, but the very moment they break into the field, because of their past experience with PS, they will buy it.

It's called Product Familiarity and it's very important to application software developers and publishers.

 

[Timmibal]

It's called Product Familiarity and it's very important to application software developers and publishers.

Which is why you will never see the level of DRM on apps as you do on games. Even multi-thousand dollar programs like Maya and 3dsmax are ridiculously easy to pirate. The publishers might ***** and moan in the media about how piracy is 'killing teh industriez' but secretly, they're reaping the benefits of the product being 'the norm'.