A Question.

[IDK]

If I have a pirated copy of something.. (A plugin for Ableton Live, a VST), that I downloaded over someone ELSE's wifi, but put on my PC via USB, and denied Internet access for the .exe file of that plugin, would it be possible for the company of that plugin to tell if I'm using a pirated version? (Don't wanna get sued)

Thanks.

[NIK]

Probably not but, in any case, people don't get sued for using pirated software. It's the ownership of an internet access point that was used to download it that people sometimes get sued for. Even then, suing is not a policy that software companies go in for--it's a policy of movie studios (particular porn producers) and record labels. Software publishers favour simply denying upgrades and support to non-registered users (regardless of whether the software is pirated or not).

[IDK]

Probably not but, in any case, people don't get sued for using pirated software. It's the ownership of an internet access point that was used to download it that people sometimes get sued for. Even then, suing is not a policy that software companies go in for--it's a policy of movie studios (particular porn producers) and record labels. Software publishers favour simply denying upgrades and support to non-registered users (regardless of whether the software is pirated or not).

Thanks, NIK, and actually, I have been sued for torrenting a program (a VST for Ableton Live), I had to pay $5,000. I went to court and everything. It was the first software piracy lawsuit in history, and I was part of it. It was a mass lawsuit, but the software developers decided to sue each pirate individually. It is good to know that the actual using of a pirated program or application is fairly safe, and that nothing would happen. Possibly a cease-and-desist order could be received, if caught?

Anyway, thanks for your reply. I have a virtual instrument downloaded on another one of my computers, which is without any Internet access, that I would like to transfer over to my new, online laptop via USB or transfer cable. The torrent was downloaded off a public wifi network (a McDonalds), so I couldn't possibly be proven guilty of the downloading. The virtual instrument contains a .dll and .exe file within my "Program Files (x86)/VST/" folder. I have denied access to the internet for the .exe, just in case the program attempts to "phone home" or check against a licensing server.

I should be safe?

[NIK]

If I had been sued and had to pay $5000 dollars I wouldn't do the same thing again.

If I had been sued and had to pay $5000 dollars I wouldn't be asking random anonymous strangers on the Internet for legal advice.

Yes, you should be safe.

[All you have to do now is decide whether to bet your life savings on your guess--of whether I'm a successful IT literate Intellectual Property lawyer, with experience of the specific software you're asking about and qualified to practice in the specific legal jurisdiction in which you live, or a 12 year old living on the other side of the world who likes to download anime for free--based on nothing but my diction.]

[And all anyone reading this needs to do is decide whether it's plausible that anyone would be asking these questions if they had really been successfully sued already.]

[IDK]

If I had been sued and had to pay $5000 dollars I wouldn't do the same thing again.

If I had been sued and had to pay $5000 dollars I wouldn't be asking random anonymous strangers on the Internet for legal advice.

Yes, you should be safe.

[All you have to do now is decide whether to bet your life savings on your guess--of whether I'm a successful IT literate Intellectual Property lawyer, with experience of the specific software you're asking about and qualified to practice in the specific legal jurisdiction in which you live, or a 12 year old living on the other side of the world who likes to download anime for free--based on nothing but my diction.]

[And all anyone reading this needs to do is decide whether it's plausible that anyone would be asking these questions if they had really been successfully sued already.]

What I was sued for was the downloading, not the actual use of the pirated application. I'm asking for a mere opinion, not legal advice. I assume that most of you know what you're talking about, it sure sounds like you do. What I gather from your previous post, is that suing occurs for the downloading of a program illegally, rather than the use.

[NIK]

What you're claiming is that the company in question:
a) sues pirates
b) knows who you are and where you live
c) knows that you have pirated their software previously
d) knows that it can get money from you

If all that is true, my opinion is that you're fucking retarded to be asking whether you should pirate their software again.

[IDK]

What you're claiming is that the company in question:
a) sues pirates
b) knows who you are and where you live
c) knows that you have pirated their software previously
d) knows that it can get money from you

If all that is true, my opinion is that you're fucking retarded to be asking whether you should pirate their software again.

Nowhere did I say it was their software I wished to use, it's A DIFFERENT one, completely unrelated to the suit.

[System Folder]

Technically, it's the fact that you are uploading while you are downloading that causes the legal issue; not the downloading by itself.

[IDK]

Technically, it's the fact that you are uploading while you are downloading that causes the legal issue; not the downloading by itself.

Exactly.
Thanks, dude.

[RobertX]

Technically, it's the fact that you are uploading while you are downloading that causes the legal issue; not the downloading by itself.

And this is why you shouldn't use torrents if you're unsure of uploading. As you download, it uploads your completed parts to others.