He also kept meticulous records of each sale. Companies lose billions of dollars each year in unpaid fees on bootlegs. The aggressive move and high-dollar recovery captured the industry's attention. But the San Jose case has broken ground, the result of careful sleuthing by San Jose police Officer Greg Korver of the department's Hi-Tech Unit, and the willingness of Autodesk investigators to run with what Korver uncovered during his investigation. It just takes minutes to electronically copy software programs.
Consumers do it all the time, everyone from homemakers to corporate honchos.
On the other end of the equation are people who take advantage of the electronic black market, hunting for bargains on auction sites and elsewhere. According to the Business Software Alliance, more than 90 percent of the software sold on auction sites is pirated. As bottom lines plummet across the industry during the current economic downturn, businesses are becoming much less tolerant. In the case of businesses, software companies rely heavily on civil courts to provide the hammer in their piracy cases, as opposed to police. Still, few companies are going after individual buyers.