In this article, we will discuss the 5 most important methods that people use to pirate software. Everyone should know about, especially big software companies. There are many different types, but these 5 are the main ones and knowing more about then will make a world of difference. After we looked at the different types we will also look at potential ways in which you can minimize the risk that these threats pose to you as a software production company. Protect Your Software Privacy Rights Online.
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Counterfeiting
Number 1 on this list is counterfeiting, it involves the copying of a product that is legally protected under copyright laws. All of this is of course illegal. These unlawful counterfeiting activities include the copying of a product as well as the trade and sale of that product when the product is copyright protected.
Some products that fall victim to this all too often is editing software for photos videos and audio. The illegal copying of these products includes the counterfeiting of the following:
- User manuals
- Software CDs
- Licensing
- Branded packaging
- Registration cards
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Internet piracy
The second mention on this list is internet piracy and in entails the unlawful download of certain products. These products are copyrighted and have to be purchased in order to legally download.
The laws are clear that identical copyright regulations that cover online products apply to products you might buy in the shop that comes on a CD and in branded packaging. For some reason when it comes to downloading software, people tend to think everything on the internet should be for free.
The most popular ways in which people do this form of piracy is the following:
- P2P networks – these networks function between peers and allows for the unregulated exchange of data, including pirated software products that are supposed to be protected under copyright laws.
- There are websites where people exchange software products with the website. You can download any pirated software from them for free and then you exchange with a software product you own.
- There are also websites that host public auctions through which they sell pirated software products.
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Piracy by the end user
This form of piracy occurs when someone reproduces products without legal authorization. They disregard the copyright laws and illegally counterfeit more copies. Some of the common forms of this include the following:
- When one legal software product is bought but then it is also installed on too many other computers which are not authorized.
- When software CDs are copied with the purpose of selling, redistributing or installing on other computers.
- Upgrading your software on an upgrade offer without owning a legal copy of the product.
- An older form is swapping disks; this is commonly done among friends of workspaces.
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The overuse of software packages
Original software products come licensed and protected under copyright laws. They normally instruct you how many people can legally use that version of the software. If more people use that product than what is legally prescribed, then that will be considered overuse, which is a breach of the copyright law.
The most popular form of this is when installed software is shared over a LAN network. In many cases, this is done and then more users use the software than the indicated maximum, this is, therefore, illegal activity.
Protect Your Software Privacy Rights Online.
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Loading the hard drive
This form is many a bit more unfamiliar to the public but none the less it is practiced far and wide. It happens when computer retailers load the new computer’s hard disk with pirated software. They do this because it can be done at low cost as they do not have to pay for the original versions, and then they can sell the computer at a higher value because of the software already installed. They commonly do this so that they can offer a big discount off the computer and thereby outcompeting their competitors.
How to limit the piracy of your software product
Now that we have been made more aware of the different methods people use to pirate software, we are faced with the big question of how to prevent it from happening to our product. The truth is that it is increasingly difficult to prevent piracy from happening even if you have perfectly created the ultimate software. Good software is a desired commodity and people will go to extreme lengths to get it for free. On top of that, billions of dollars are made each year by the illegal piracy industry.
Luckily, there are some good anti-piracy companies that can help maximize your protection against this piracy industry. One of the best ways to learn how to protect yourself.
These companies specialize in brand protection and anti-piracy. They have all the tools to offer the best defense you can have against piracy. Through the monitoring of sites where pirated software is offered, websites can be flagged and followed up with the necessary action to eliminate that threat accordingly. Protect Your Software Privacy Rights Online.
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