Software infringement is a serious issue and compliance must be taken seriously within the design community to diminish copyright infringement violations. To be sure, software piracy, which is the theft of software through the illegal copying of genuine programs or through the counterfeiting and distribution of products intending to pass for the original, is a crime. Sandy Boulton, director of Autodesk's piracy prevention department, reports that nearly three of every ten programs are illegally copied. That means that 30 percent of the software in use is unlicensed. It is a simple exercise, then, to estimate the amount of lost revenue large and small software firms experience at the hands of software pirates.
Software piracy is a serious problem.
Certainly the architecture and interior design community is sensitive to copyright infringement and licensing violations in its own profession. Design firms do get caught red-handed. However, the software piracy police are not permitted to make a frivolous claim. They are required to have reliable sources of information before they approach a firm they believe is violating the law. The problem is that most design firms who find out they are not in compliance feel exposed.