Mr. Dotcom charged people for access to the system and the pirated software, which was mostly games, Mr. Bogk adds.
Add to that the risks of downloading updates to pirated software, and the free version starts to look a little costly.
It also explains the risks that consumers face when purchasing pirated software.
Microsoft's pirated software police have been going after companies abroad for years, but getting those far-away folks into US courtrooms isn't easy.
Credit the BSA for an aggressive media campaign and a few high-profile legal battles against companies found to have pirated software on employee's machines.
At the time, Mr. Dotcom set up a software-hacker community and a computer system used to upload pirated software from others, Mr. Bogk said.
The commercial value of pirated software is the value of unlicensed software installed in a given year, as if it had been sold in the market.
FORBES: Business Software Alliance Gets It Wrong on Software Theft Again
According to a 2010 Business Software Alliance (BSA) study, seven in 10 users say they support paying for virtual property, and eight in 10 say they value legal over pirated software.
FORBES: Education Is Best Weapon Against Web Piracy, not SOPA
With the proliferation of Android application stores in China, the quality control over the applications offered in the stores has lagged, with users and regulators reporting difficulties with pirated software, spyware and viruses.
Internet security firm Internet Security Solutions (nasdaq: ISSX - news - people ) has just completed an investigation into the existence of several large file-sharing networks used to trade pirated software and movies.
For example, if a manufacturer uses pirated software in the "manufacture, distribution, marketing, or sales" of products sold in Washington, Microsoft could sue the vendor of those products and get an injunction to stop the goods from being sold.
Levy wrote a lengthy article in the New York Times about how Russian security services arrested members of an environmental group under the pretense that they were using pirated Microsoft software.
FORBES: Shamed Twice, Microsoft Takes Action To Protect Dissidents
It's not right when another country lets our movies, music and software be pirated.
Kish is charged with selling pirated copies of 11 software titles, while Chu is charged with selling illegal copies of 21 titles, Stevens said.
Technology veteran Edward Kozel has a simple philosophy about a scourge of the Internet--the peer-to-peer networks that let millions of users illegally swap pirated movies, songs and software: If you can't beat 'em, make a buck off 'em.
According to the Business Software Alliance, more than one-third of all PC software in use is pirated.
The application, published Dec. 13, suggests Apple could adopt something similar to Microsoft 's widely criticized Windows Genuine Advantage copy protection program, which checks a user's machine to confirm that it is not running a pirated version of Microsoft's software in exchange for access to certain software updates.
The application, published Dec. 13, suggests Apple could adopt something similar to Microsoft 's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) widely criticized Windows Genuine Advantage copy protection program, which checks a user's machine to confirm that it is not running a pirated version of Microsoft's software in exchange for access to certain software updates.
But many of the home-grown services face issues with malicious software contained within apps, some of which are pirated versions.
You create one version of the software and the next thing you know, it's pirated all over the place.
The site, which was estimated to get up 140, 000 hits a day, did not contain illegal copies of video games or software but had message boards where people could share tips about pirated material.
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