Software Copy Protection

Digital/Software Copy Protection Technology

Digital or Software Copy Protection Technologies work in a different manner to Hardware devices - they use licenses stored on a Users PC or Server rather than an external device like a dongle.

Due to this they have the benefit of reduced cost for the initial licence when purchased from a copy protection vendor but they do have a great deal more support issues. This is because of the very fact that the license is stored locally and not on an 'external' device.

The costs associated with software copy protection methods all relate to the back-end costs. The protection systems themselves tend to come in two flavors, Software Wrappers and Software Developer's Kits:

Software wrappers

These have evolved from the loader based mechanisms found in some software protection systems. Many developers consider them to be among the easiest products to use, because they are often designed to be easily integrated into any product.

However, this ease of use comes at a price. Once cracked, a software wrapper can be countered with an un-wrapper that is easy to distribute and run.

Also, developers need to be wary of future operating system developments when using wrappers. Unless you are sure that your wrapper solution will survive Windows XP Service Pack 2 and future operating system upgrades, for example, you could find yourself with increasing support costs in the future.

Software Development Kits

This is a piece of copy protection code that has been developed for a specific application environment.

SDK's are harder to implement than wrapper technology because you must be a developer and you must have the tools that built the original application. They can nevertheless be relatively simple to implement if the correct solution is chosen.

SDK's are stronger and harder to hack than wrappers and much cheaper and more flexible than dongles. They also tend to have more features and integrate with applications much more tightly, allowing for features such as custom screens.

SDK's are good... but chose wisely as there are still pitfalls to watch out for

So, an SDK is a good choice as it can offer strong copy protection for the developer’s software, but there are still many pitfalls to watch out for. Many SDK’s out there are still based on old first generation technology. Second generation technologies in the market place have moved on and are able to alleviate these traditional pitfalls (such as the patent pending PRO-Tector™ software).

Chosen wisely, a good SDK can continue to offer a complete solution for protecting your Intellectual Property (IP). However, for high end software, there is a further solution - the hardware system.