What Is Piracy?

Software piracy is the copying, distribution and/or use of software without the authorization of the copyright holder. Software piracy is considered an act of copyright infringement, and the infringer can face serious legal action.

Educating yourself about piracy will prevent you from becoming a victim of not only piracy, but perhaps also of identity theft or other crimes.

Software Piracy Is Expensive Business

Every year billions of dollars of revenue is lost as a result of software piracy. Software piracy equals lost wages, lost jobs and unfair competition. Struggling to fight against piracy, some companies must devote resources to anti-piracy technology, ultimately slowing down the development of better products and services. Others fail under the pressure of prices that legal distributors cannot match. Reporting piracy means keeping a level playing field and ensuring the most reliable products for customers.

You can help stop this illegal and harmful activity. Knowing how to spot and avoid illegal software, and reporting suspected intellectual property violations when you encounter them, can have a positive impact on the fight against piracy. Please learn more about this criminal activity and take action.

Consequence of Piracy

Software piracy is stealing. If you or your company is caught copying and/or distributing illegal copies of software, you could be held liable under both civil and criminal laws. If the software owner decides to sue you or your company, the owner can seek to stop you from using/distributing its software immediately and can also request monetary damages. The software owner may then choose between actual damages, which includes the amount it has lost because of your infringement (as well as any of your profits attributable to the infringement), and statutory damages, which can be millions of dollars in cases of willful infringement. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute copyright infringement. If convicted, infringers can be fined up to $250,000, sentenced to prison for up to five years, or both. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years.

In addition to legal consequences, consumers who purchase such unauthorized software, either through auction sites, online stores or brick-and-mortar retail establishments, may be:

• Exposed to defective or corrupted software, which can ruin computers and cost consumers more in terms of repair services or replacement equipment.
• Exposed to software viruses or other malicious code that can damage computers or lead to identity theft.
• Unable to obtain warranties, proper manuals, support services and software upgrades offered to properly licensed users.

To help protect consumers and to safeguard its intellectual property rights, Rosetta Stone® investigates and takes aggressive measures to stop instances of piracy.