Software piracy is stealing. If you or your company are 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, and/or sentenced to prison for up to five years.

In addition to legal consequences, users of pirated or counterfeit software could experience:

• Exposure to software viruses, corrupt disk or defective software
• Inadequate or no product documentation
• No warranties
• Lack of technical support
• Ineligibility for software upgrades offered to properly licensed users

U.S. Copyright Law

U.S. Copyright Law {Title 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq., Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2319}

Copyright infringements can be punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Violators can also be held civilly liable for actual damages, lost profits, or statutory damages up to $150,000 per work.