This criminal offence occurs every day on computer systems around the world including the internet. This is a very serious problem and is very difficult to circumvent. Every computer user is both tempted and immersed in software piracy in its many forms. One of the most disturbing facts behind this crime is that many people who participate in the distribution of commercial software don't even know they are committing a crime. Software piracy is a very serious and widespread crime that must be acknowledged and dealt with.
Software piracy is the unauthorized duplication and or distribution of copyrighted programs.
There are two ways to be involved in software piracy. The first is facilitation. Facilitation is the deliberate copying of copyrighted software and distributing it. An example would be an MIT student named David LaMacchia. Mr. LaMacchia was caught by the authorities and was acquitted of this piracy due to the lack of legal standards for this crime.