Some license agreements may permit copying. For example, the Samson program distributed by the Stanford Data Center may be copied for another member of the Stanford community. But both of you cannot use it at the same time nor should the borrower make any copies. One rule of thumb is to assume that only one person at a time may use the software when one copy has been purchased from the vendor. It may be difficult to obtain trouble-shooting services and updates from the vendor, however, if you are not the registered owner of the copy of software.
Software is expensive.
Paying the vendor for another copy of a software program usually is very expensive compared to making a copy yourself. Nevertheless, until the law is changed, you cannot make an unauthorized copy in violation of the vendor's legal rights. Intentional violations of copyright law are federal crimes. Additionally, there may be liability for monetary damages for violation of copyright or breach of a license agreement. Therefore, unauthorized software copying is a serious matter.