Web Piracy: How to Ensure Software-Licensing Is Legal

Whether the act is intentional or innocent, software piracy is nothing to take lightly. Just like any other broken law, authorities do not accept ignorance as an excuse. Be sure you understand how software licenses work and how you can keep your personal and professional offices clean. Why? Because in the U.S., an infringer could be fined up to $250,000 and face a jail term of up to five years.

Rules and Regulations

What is a license? A software license is simply an acknowledgement that you (or your company) paid the money required to own and use a piece of software. But, just as you can't share your driver's license with your neighbor, you can't share software licenses either. The rules are clearly explained at the purchase of all software as to how many licenses are included. Most common software includes only one license, while other pieces of software may be purchased in bundled licenses of five, 10 or even 100-plus.

What does this mean? It means that one license, generally speaking, allows you to install that software on one computer. Why spend all that money on multiple licenses when it's the same exact piece of software? Why not just go from PC to PC with the same installation CD, using the same key code on every office PC? Because that would make you a pirate - stealing what does not belong to you. Every PC must have its own unique license that you purchased separately.

In Layman's Terms

But, it's so tempting! Who's ever going to know if I take the office's CD and install the software on my PC at home? We might as well get our money's worth, right? Wrong! Think of it this way: Let's say you carefully choose a team of friends who are the best pastry chefs you know. The five of you compile the world's most amazing pastry cookbook, and you go to the trouble and expense of getting it published.

Then, let's say one person on your block went to the bookstore and bought your pastry book. Great, your first sale! Then, that person goes to hundreds of her friends and hands out copies of your book that she made for $0.10 at the library. Instead of hundreds of pastry-book sales, you only have one. Think about how it would upset the software industry if we all passed around installation CDs instead of buying our own.

You may not have known this was illegal or thought it through enough to realize there was anything wrong with this act. Worse yet, some people intentionally make copies of programs and distribute them at discounted prices. Add a pretty box and some shrink-wrap, and voila! Who can tell the difference? However, you can tell if software is the real deal. Here's how:

• If the price of the product costs substantially less than the average retail store
• If the software comes with a blank CD in a blank jewel case with no documentation
• If the manual is photocopied or missing altogether
• If the packaging and the product lack the genuine "feel" of a retail product
• If the packaging is not sealed in any way or if the shrink-wrap fits loosely or in a wrinkled manner

If you ever have any questions about the authenticity of a piece of software, contact the customer-service department of the company that makes it. Before you install it, ask them to verify the key or serial number. If there's no customer-service number, well, you probably have your answer.