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The copyrights prevent against:
              •  People making illegal copies.
              •  Distributing the copy or even uploading on the Internet without the permission of the owner.

              14.4.2  Software Piracy
              Software Piracy as the name itself suggests is illegal and refers to the unlawful act using copying or distributing  software.
              But is it a matter of concern? Yes, of course. Let us understand a bit more about software products first.
              Software products have become an essential part of the global infrastructure. As such, they also constitute a major
              part of the world’s economy, guarantee public safety, and provide a basis of entertainment to a large segment of the
              world’s population.
              There are mainly two types of software. They are as follows:
              •  Commercial Software: This software has either to be purchased or used with permission.
              •  Free or “Open Source” Software: This software can be freely used, modified and distributed and hence is called
                 open-source software.
              It is thus the Commercial software for which the concept of Software Piracy has become so important.

              This legally protected software, i.e., the Commercial Software when copied, distributed, modified or stolen without
              informing or taking permission of the owner comes under the banner of Software Piracy.

              Suppose, we had bought an original licensed software from the vendor and, we got the complete rights also to use it,
              but only for a single computer. So, legally we cannot install it on another computer and if we try to use it on another
              computer, or try to make a copy of it and sell it to others, then the act becomes an act of Software Piracy.

              According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) which is a non-profit trade association created to advance the goals
              of the software industry and its hardware partners, nearly 36% of all software presently in use have been thieved
              internationally. This is a problem of the software world which reduces the revenue of the concerned company as well
              as the country a lot.

              “Indian Copyright Act 1957” protects the rights of the software owners, so that Software Piracy could be under control.
              This Act states that any copy of the software which is used without the license and/or permission (granted by the
              owner of the copyright) is illegal.

              Types of Software Piracy

              Following are the different types of software piracy:
              •  Counterfeiting: When there is illegal duplication, distribution or sale of copyrighted material with the intent of
                 imitating the copyrighted product, then it is known as Counterfeiting of the Software.
              •  Internet Piracy: We can download legal software from the Internet, but there are also some websites from where
                 can get them for free or in exchange of some other legal software. This method of getting legal software illegally is
                 called Internet Piracy.
              •  End User Piracy: If a legal user breaks the copyright rules and makes copies of the software without authorization,
                 it is called End User Piracy.
              •  Client-Server Overuse:  The protocol of Client - Server is that each user should have a license. But most of the time,
                 there is a tendency to use the central copy in the server by a greater number of users than the required number of
                 licenses. This refers to the overuse of software in the Client-Server machine.
              •  Hard-Disk Loading: Sometimes while selling a new computer, the vendor installs copies of certain software on the
                 hard disk, which makes the purchase more lucrative.
              How to avoid the Software Piracy:
              •  We should always purchase legal software and that too from reputed vendors or directly from a computer website.
              •  While buying, we should always check for the license documentation, original disc, etc.


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