Request for Copyright Violation....

I got this email (I was discussing purple fringe reduction in another forum):

I'm cuban, trying to do something with a camera, my 70-200 nikkor lens are old (from the 90's) and make many chromatic aberrations, mainly with a high lights & contrast scenes; i found troght a comment recommending the use of Color Fringe Reducer 5.0, unfortunately the web for download is on sale and I try too to download from another source without luck. please if isn't to complicate for you, could you send me by email this plug-in for PS.

I, of course, ignored it...

Note also that I do not own CFR 5.0.

There are always some folks who want something for nothing. When I receive these types of messages they immediately get relegated to the digital dust bin.

Thanks for the heads-up.

--P

The complete illiteracy of the message should be the biggest red flag there is.

Assuming he really is from Cuba, he probably speaks only Spanish and Cuba has strict limitations on internet purchases (embargo by USA), so he probably has some difficulty purchasing this CFR through normal channels. That doesn't change the fact that he is trying to circumvent normal copyright protections, but the situation is probably more complicated than it would appear on the surface...

But in the end I would still ignore the request.

This is more along the lines of what I was thinking when I read it and subsequently searched the internet on his email address. Still, even with embargos it is rather easy to import software from other sources outside the U.S. (by purchasing it from third parties) or from torrents.

Assuming he really is from Cuba, he probably speaks only Spanish and Cuba has strict limitations on internet purchases (embargo by USA), so he probably has some difficulty purchasing this CFR through normal channels. That doesn't change the fact that he is trying to circumvent normal copyright protections, but the situation is probably more complicated than it would appear on the surface...

Cindy Mead wrote:
I'd rather believe the best in a person at least until they give me a good reason to believe otherwise. A little bit of kindness can go a very long ways.

I don't blame him. The price of software is ridiculous and in many cases inflated more than it needs to be to be profitable. For many people on a limited budget like myself the $600 that photoshop costs would be better spent on quality glass (or held onto to save for pro quality glass). Honestly I haven't made any major equipment purchases in several years (eg. lenses, tripods, cameras) because I can't afford it, I'm still shooting with the 40D and I'm sure there are a lot more people out there in the same boat as I am. If photoshop only cost $100-200 I'm sure a lot more people would own legitimate copies (and I think Adobe could still make money). I know the program he was talking about wasn't photoshop but keep in mind he was from Cuba a relatively poor country so that program even if it was available could be very expensive for a Cuban. I'm not saying you should have given it to him even if you had the program because you could get in trouble for it but I do feel sorry for his situation where he has to beg someone to send it to him.

Yeah - some of that stuff ain't cheap. Price it too low, profits suffer, and people will just download from the many, many torrents sites. Price it too high and many people can't afford it, and will get it from the many, many torrents sites.

As a side note- Color Fringe Reducer was, at the time, only $10.00. However, the photographer that developed that (Shay Stephens) has essentially disappeared from the photography world, and the plug-in is no longer available. Too bad as he is/was a well-known and respected photographer.

Cindy,

You are right, of course. I should have given more thought to what was written in the e-mail prior to responding.

--P