What Is Pirated Software?

• The BSA (or the Business Software Alliance) defines software piracy as "the unauthorized copying or distribution of copyrighted software." You break the copyright laws of a particular piece of software if you violate the license agreement. When software is purchased, it's actually the license, or the right to use software by adhering to particular rules -- not the software itself -- that you are buying. Software licenses establish how many times a piece of software can be installed or how many users can have access to it.
  
  

Acts of Pirating

• Sometimes it's extremely easy to pirate software. For instance, by uploading software you have not paid for -- or downloading software someone else has paid for -- you're engaging in "end-user" pirating. If you use a program or an illegally obtained license number to access protected software, you're "cracking" that software. Whether or not you are encouraging illegal access to software for money, it's still considered pirating and can be penalized.
  
  

Penalties

• According to the BSA, a person or business who is discovered to possess pirated software can pay up to $150,000 in fines for each software title. If the government chooses to prosecute for copyright infringement, an individual or company could face a sentence of up to $250,000 in fines, five years in jail, or both.
  
  

Who Can Be Penalized?

• An individual or a company can be found legally responsible for pirating software even if they are unaware of copyright infringement. For example, if an individual at a company is illegally using unauthorized software, the entire company could be faced with criminal charges or fines. ProForce Software notes that an individual cannot use "absence of knowledge" as a defense for using pirated software.