Software Piracy and You

**It is the responsibility of software users to read and understand the license agreements of the products they purchase or use. The following excerpts are reprinted from the Software Publishers Association website.

The Law in the United States

Software is automatically protected by federal copyright law from the moment of its creation. The rights granted to the owner of a copyright are clearly stated in the Copyright Act, Title 17 of the US Code. The unauthorized duplication of software constitutes copyright infringement regardless of whether it is done for sale, for free distribution, or for the copier’s own use. Moreover, copiers are liable for the resulting copyright infringement whether or not they knew their conduct violated federal law. Penalties include liability for damages suffered by the copyright owner plus any profits of the infringer that are attributable to the copying, or statutory damages of up to $100,000 for each work infringed. The unauthorized duplication of software is also a Federal crime if done "willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain (Title 18 Section 2319(b))." Criminal penalties include fines of as much as $250,000 and jail terms of up to 5 years.

Use of Software

Anyone who purchases a license for a copy of software has the right to load it onto a single computer and to make another copy "for archival purposes only." It is illegal to load that software onto more than one computer or to make copies of that software for any other purpose unless specific permission has been obtained from the copyright owner or otherwise permitted in the license accompanying the software program.

Public or private educational institutions are not exempt from the copyright laws. For more information, please contact the Software Publishers Association at (202) 452-1600 or visit their piracy homepage at http://www.siia.net/piracy/default.htm.