Utilizing the positive impacts of software piracy in monopoly industries

Succeeding under rampant software piracy is a critical task for software publishers today. Instead of treating software piracy as a destructive force, a few scholars have realized the positive influence of software piracy, that is, it may accelerate the diffusion of innovations. Furthermore, fewer scholars have tried to develop strategies to control and manipulate software piracy to utilize its positive influence. In this paper, a model is introduced that simulates a computer software market as a complex adaptive system. The model develops dynamic and self-learning marketing strategies that help software publishers utilize software piracy to speed up a new product diffusion process, maximize profits, and minimize costs in a monopoly marketing environment. Also, the model demonstrates that the profits and the diffusion speed are also influenced by the topologies of social networks and the locations of pirates.