Quote:
Originally Posted by
bdenton
You might want to print this out and keep it handy.
I believe you have one or two rationalizations in there that will give the FBI a few laughs when they kick down your door...
Using cracked software for any reason is theft, period.
And living in a black-and-white world is quite nice, thank you...
Even the law isn't black-and-white - never was. As pointed out in another post, if I own the software I have the right to use it - even if that requires extraordinary means.
Rationalizations aside, it isn't legally theft to use cracked software - it's copyright infringement. And there's only criminal liability for infringement on a commercial scale IIRC from my Harvard IP law courses. (IANAL) Civil liability is another matter, but that has costs for both sides.
Just because nobody talks about it doesn't mean it goes away - And if it (making the software) weren't commercially viable (i.e. nobody bought the software) then there wouldn't be any companies doing it.
I'm not making any new arguments, nor arguing that anyone should go out and deprive people (like myself, remember I write this software!) of an income, but acknowledging that this exists and that the infrastructure is broken. Even if there were no authorization codes or activations there would exist the underground. And I'd still buy exactly the same amount of software I do today: That which is worth it to me.
Use it: Pay for it. Don't use it: Recommend and review it. Nobody loses.