# Reward for Turning in Copyright Violators

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 2, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997 "2004-03-02T00:05:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997/1 "2004-03-02T00:05:51Z")

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A friend of mine just got fired from his job and wouldn’t mind a little revenge and profit at the expense of his former employer.

Apparently, the employer was rampantly reproducing copyrighted materials for use in its business, without permission. Can this be reported and can the guy get a reward as a result?

Please no moralizing about intellectual property, playing the part of Judas, etc.

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**Author:** ![Omnipresent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@Omnipresent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnipresent)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997/2 "2004-03-02T00:24:43Z")

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I don’t really have a answer to your question but, just curious, what type of copyrighted material are we talking about? Logo? Written word? Software?

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997/3 "2004-03-02T00:29:17Z")

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Also was the material being sold, given away etc…

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**Author:** ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997/4 "2004-03-02T00:33:54Z")

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[Business Software Alliance](http://www.bsa.org)

You can report pirated software here. I don’t think there is a reward, but they have been known to come down like crazed Visigoths on violators.

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**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997/5 "2004-03-02T00:34:17Z")

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For what it’s worth, the guy was field tech. The employer pirated the repair manuals for all the equipment they service.

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997/6 "2004-03-02T00:50:43Z")

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This might be permitted, especially if they’re an authorized service center.

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**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reward-for-turning-in-copyright-violators/231997/7 "2004-03-02T00:54:52Z")

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> [@Balthisar](#):
>
> This might be permitted, especially if they’re an authorized service center.

Perhaps, but let’s assume for the sake of argument that it’s a violation.