Critical Thinking, Ethics, and Civic Responsibility

One scenario of software theft is called "softlifting." This is where someone buys an application with a cd key and shares it with all his friends despite the terms on the license. This is illegal because the friends would receive a free copy of the application. Another scenario of software theft is called "software counterfeit." This is where someone would make copies of an application and sell them as if they were legitimate.

Softlifting happens to businesses a lot because they will often pass out more copies of an application than their license has agreed to. If they get caught for this they could get in some trouble because most software is protected by federal copyright laws. To ensure that a business never gets caught for this they should keep a log for when they purchase new software, educate their employees, and record when employees ask for software.

Software counterfeiting is normally done when someone takes a real copy of the software and puts it in a cd burner creating illegal copies of the software. If you get caught doing this you can face jail time and huge fines. Individuals can face up to $93,000 in fines and up to five years of jail time.

In the end its nearly impossible to get caught for most types of software theft, but when someone does get caught the punishment can be severe. In my opinion software punishment should be the same as if someone was getting caught for shoplifting. If someone steals a copy of windows and shares it with someone that should be the same as someone stealing $300 worth of goods from a store. In reality the punishment for software theft is a lot more severe.

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