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Software piracy is the unlawful duplication, distribution or use
of computer software. Software is protected by copyright law, which
states that the product cannot be copied without permission from
the copyright holder. You do not own the software, the software
licence only grants you the legal right to use a piece of software.
It is illegal if you use pirated software, give it away, or sell
it. Aiding software piracy by giving unauthorized access to software
or serial numbers can also be illegal.
An example would be, copying a single licence version onto multiple
PCs without a licence to do so.
There are many different forms of software piracy here are some
examples that your company may be exposed too:
Server Overuse:
This happens when too many employees on a network use a central
copy of an application concurrently. If you have a local-area network
and install programs on your server for several employees to use,
you have to ensure your licence allows that number of employees
to use the programme at any one time.
End User Piracy:
This happens when an employee reproduces copies of software without
authorisation, by installing software licensed for one computer
onto multiple computers, copying removable disks for installation
and distribution, and /or using upgrade offers without having a
legal copy of the original version.
This is by no measure an exhaustive list of the different forms
that software piracy can take, but is rather an indicator of risk
that your company might be exposed to.
Contact today if you feel that you may be exposed, and gain the
peace of mind that a professional assessment can give.
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