@tabzer I have been sourcing all of my statements. That is called providing evidence. You have provided no evidence of anything you have stated. The fact that you don't realize that I have been providing evidence this whole time that supports my arguments, while you provide none at all, prove that you're just writing how you feel. I gave the the definition of a copyright and how it protects the creative works of others, I gave you a definition of software theft, and both of these definitions were literally taught to me while I was a business undergrad student. I gave you a real life example of men being charged with software theft, and you say I am yet to cite a situation where someone was charged with software theft. You want more? Okay.

Reference: http://www.siia.net/Divisions/IP-Protection-Services/About/Real-Life-Examples-of-Piracy

Quote:

"Web Pirates Punished

Judges routinely hand down tough sentences for software piracy. Three major software pirates were charged with criminal copyright infringement for their involvement in the manufacture and widespread distribution of pirated software. Both were initially investigated by SIIA and later referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Customs.

Danny Ferrar, owner and operator of BuysUSA. com, a massive for-profit software piracy website, was sentenced in federal court to six years in prison. Ferrar and his co-conspirators operated the www. BUYSUSA.com website, which sold pirate copies of Adobe, Autodesk and Macromedia software at prices substantially below the suggested retail price.

During the time of its operation, BUYSUSA.com illegally sold more than $4.1 million of copyrighted software, resulting in nearly $20 million in losses to the software owners. At the time of sentencing, this was the longest prison term ever handed down in a software piracy case. Ferrar was also ordered to forfeit the proceeds of his illegal conduct, pay restitution of more than $4.1 million, and perform 50 hours of community service.

The asset forfeiture included a Cessna 152; a Cessna 172RG; a Model TS-11 ISKRA aircraft; a RotorWay International helicopter; a 1992 Lamborghini; a 2005 Hummer; a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette; two 2005 Chevrolet Corvettes; a 2005 Lincoln Navigator; an IGATE G500 LE Flight Simulator; a 1984 twenty-eight foot Marinette hardtop express boat; and an ambulance - all of which Ferrar had purchased with the profits from his illegal site. Ferrar also agreed to surrender the proceeds of sales of two fire trucks that were also bought with his illegal proceeds.

Less than a month later, Ferrar's record prison term was shattered when Nathan Peterson, owner and operator of iBackups was sentenced to 87 months (7 years, 3 months) in prison for his crimes. Peterson had previously pled guilty to two counts of criminal copyright infringement. In addition to his prison term, Peterson was required to pay restitution of $5,402,448 and a $250,000 punitive fee.

Working on behalf of its members, SIIA first alerted the FBI of possible software piracy by Peterson and subsequently worked with investigators and prosecutors to assure that Peterson's operation was stopped and that he was properly punished. iBackups sold pirated software over the Internet, claiming it was "backup software" - legal copies of software to be used by the software licensee for backup in case of system crashes. It is, however, illegal to resell such copies.

Often software pirates are often not just intellectual property thieves, but are involved in other illegal activities. This proved true once again when, while on bond in this case, Peterson was convicted in Los Angeles for the sale of six handguns and an illegal assault weapon to an alleged heroin dealer.

Shortly after Ferrar and Peterson were sentenced, Jeremiah Mondello, formerly a college student from the University of Oregon, was sentenced by a U.S. District Court in Oregon on charges of copyright infringement, aggravated identity theft and mail fraud. Mondello received a sentence of 48 months in federal prison, three years supervised release following jail time, and 150 hours of community service per year. Further, Mondello's personal computers and $220,000 in cash were seized as part of the sentencing mandates. SIIA began investigating the eBay seller later discovered to be Mondello. Using data collected by SIIA's proprietary Auction Enforcement Tool, SIIA identified Mondello through his eBay seller ID and determined there were many more additional eBay identities that likely were being used by Mondello. SIIA then referred all of its case information to the DOJ's Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Cyber Crime Center — where investigators were able to determine that Mondello was not only using a handful of falsified identities - but also created more than 40 fictitious seller IDs. He did so by recording and stealing peoples' bank account information through a keystroke logger that he distributed over the Internet. He then used that information to set up false PayPal accounts using fictitious seller names. By creating these fake seller IDs, he was able to artificially inflate his relatively high standing in the eBay marketplace, which he then used to attract sales and deliver the pirated goods.

Here it is AGAIN:

"Judges routinely hand down tough sentences for software piracy."

Piracy is another name for software theft, or maybe you didn't know that either since you don't seem to know much of anything. What constitutes software theft?

Reference:

https://itstillworks.com/legal-penalties-software-piracy-1158.html

"Types of Piracy

U.S. copyright laws categorize software piracy into three categories. Any infringements in these areas can result in legal action. Organized counterfeit sales involve illegally duplicating and selling copyrighted software without the permission of the copyright owner. Even purchasing the software may result in a fine. Unlicensed use is the most common type of piracy with home users and businesses. This occurs when individuals or employees make copies of or share software without an adequate number of licenses. This also includes using restricted-use software for other purposes, such as using academic versions in a business instead. The final type of piracy is hard disk loading. When software is loaded on a new or used computer by a third party without the copyright holder's permission, software piracy has occurred. This typically happens with shady computer retailers or repair technicians.

Damages to Copyright Holder

Anytime software piracy happens, the copyright holder loses profits for each occurrence. If found guilty, the accused is responsible for paying for any damages and lost profits. If the software has been shared with others, the accused may also be responsible for profits lost from each installed copy.

Federal Penalties

Software piracy is considered a federal crime, much like illegally downloading music and movies. Some cases may go beyond paying back the copyright holder and result in federal statutory damages. The amount varies per case, but can be as much as $150,000 per infringement.

Criminal Piracy

For people or businesses caught selling illegal software, the legal penalties are much worse. Fines can go as high as $250,000. The accused may also face up to five years in prison with a permanent felony on their record."

At this point, I am beginning to think you're not intellectually capable of understanding law, which is okay. But just stating your opinions while offering no evidence doesn't make anything you say true. Sorry to break it to you.