Piracy (illegally downloading digital content such as music, movies and games) is stealing, and there's no way around it: You're taking something that isn't yours, without paying for it. ... Whether it hurts the party being pirated, or not, isn't the only issue.

Is piracy legally justified?

Noncommercial software theft or piracy, while currently illegal because it violates the copyright laws, is justified ethically, economically, and socially, and should therefore be allowed.

Is piracy punishable by law?

U.S. law protects copyright holders under the Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.S. § 109 [1993]), and a 1992 federal law makes software piracy a felony (Pub. L.