Even though CERN's budget is probably humongous, it does not mean it can spend 30k CHF (27.5k €, 30.5k $) left and right. As it is huge amount of cash.
The best way to do is explain and negotiate with AllSIM. As I understood the student used pirated software for a very short period of time. If AllSIM are human, they will not charge CERN, or charge low fine (<1k €).
Rules are rules, without obeying them, student compromised reputation of whole CERN, then his/hers university and finally himself. Probably CERN will not hire him and will not recommend to anybody else.
You don't need to break 'life-threatening' rule to compromise your reputation.
It's just about who is trustworthy and reliable, and who is not, especially in an organisation where people are very educated and probably with high morality standards.
As has already been established repeatedly on this thread quite possibly no one should pay. If I send you an invoice for $30000 it does not mean that you owe it to me merely that I am demanding it.
Right, I'm going to try and put this in very simple terms. The student is the one who broke the law. HE deserves to be punished. CERN are not the employer, the University are. HE was seconded to CERN by the University. However, the actions HE took were done on HIS own. Had HE been directed to pirate the software by either CERN or the Univerity, then you may have a point. As it stands you do not. Pointless. I'm sure you are going to suggest draconian licensing terms, blah, blah, blah... The fact remains that the terms exist and, as a professional scientist, HE should have behaved ethically and operated within the confines of the license. End of discussion.
You are a copyright maximalist. I have a different view where I believe that creators should be paid but not to exclusion of the rest of society and not to the exclusion of the rule of law. This colours both of our views of the facts and we will never agree. We both think that the other is sadly misinformed and a foolish with a politically motivated viewpoint.
Nope, wrong again. You are anti-intellectual property, but that has little bearing on the facts of this story.
I believe that if you have made an agreement, you keep it and if your employer has agreements with third parties, that you honour those too. If you, or this indivudual, have moral objections to said agreements, the choices are simple, leave their employ.
Taking and using the software without permission or regard for agreements made in legally binding contracts is not an option, and it is not morally or ethically anyware close to doing the right thing. You seem to have lost sight of this because your views are politically motivated. It has nothing to do with your views of how the world should work.
Since you are so concerned with the 'the rule of law' (due process doesn't exist in UK law, we have natural justice, but that's by-the-by), the students actions were in direct contravention of established laws and policies. You seem to think that HE is above censure because 'capitalism is bad, man'. Well I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you but, it's actually about ethics. This individual has none, and clearly neither do you.
I am certainly not an anti-capitalist. Although I don't regard such a comment as a slur.
I do think that creators should be paid.
I don't think that companies should slam arbitrary egregious charges on people -- and I know that courts don't always uphold these speculative invoices and indeed have been known to punish the people making the demand and their legal representation quite strongly.
I do know that most people in the real world would find this utterly outrageous given that the student had the right to use the software in question in the setting in which it was detected.
I personally would not do what he did -- all software that I use is either free (as in speech) or properly licensed.
The only thing that is wrong is the twisted interpretation the story! The charge isn't arbitrary!
The student didn't have the right to use the software! It was only licensed to be used at CERN. HE downloaded it from an illegal site that provided a cracked version of the software on his own laptop so that HE could travel and not be at CERN, where he was entitled to use the software![0] He was even allowed to access the software using terminal services, but, in caps so it's easy for you to understand, CHOSE TO PIRATE THE SOFTWARE FOR HIS OWN CONVENIENCE!!! If you had read and understood the article, as you claim, you would know this. You even aknowledge that the software was improperly licensed!!!
To your ad hominem, I will respond in kind; you are an idiot.
[0] From the second paragraph of the fucking article: "But our student failed to download AllSIM from DFS onto his office PC, since that wasn’t where he wanted to use it. He wanted to install it on his laptop so that he could work on his simulation while travelling. However, the CERN AllSIM installation would not allow for this, as roaming usage is not covered by CERN's AllSIM licence. The student had a need and was not willing to compromise i.e. by using the Windows Terminal Service. Instead, he used Google and quickly found AllSIM for free on a dubious website. Three clicks later, he was ready to go."
The best way to do is explain and negotiate with AllSIM. As I understood the student used pirated software for a very short period of time. If AllSIM are human, they will not charge CERN, or charge low fine (<1k €).
Rules are rules, without obeying them, student compromised reputation of whole CERN, then his/hers university and finally himself. Probably CERN will not hire him and will not recommend to anybody else.