Software piracy can be defined as the unauthorized
copying of software. Most retail programs are licensed for
use at just one computer by one user at anytime only. By
buying the software, you become the licensed user rather
than the owner of the software. You can make backups of the
software, but you can not give the backups to your friends
or colleagues. It is illegal when you distribute any copies
of the copyrighted software to anyone else. This violates
Title 17, section 117 and section 501 of the United States
Code. Illegal as it is currently, it is not necessarily bad
for the society. If you can recall, it was also illegal for
black people to ride on the bus and also illegal for the
black people to attend public school. However, it is all
changed now and we know how wrong we were to judge the
people by the color of their skin. Will we possibly be
making a mistake by saying software piracy is illegal?