Under the circumstances outlined, it is unclear if the software is truly pirated. Depending on the license agreement of the software, the user may install it multiple times on multiple computers or be liable to installing it on one computer. However, this plays into copyright laws as well, in terms of ownership (again, this would most likely be cleared up by the license agreement). Nevertheless, the concept of ownership is a controversial topic… especially in terms of reproduction and distribution. On one side, many would argue that after something is purchased, then it is the soul property of that person and whatever action is taken henceforth is up to their discretion. However, there are gray areas as well… such as royalties. In most cases concerning software, most if not all stipulations are outlined in the license agreement. Also, it is usually safe to assume that reproduction and redistribution is prohibited… I suppose the real question is: Do you think you can get away with it?
a) A) So is it ok to borrow the software in this hypothetical? It depends… I would wager it’s probably prohibited and frowned upon, but most people would fail to act on its unlawfulness. Yet, there are many programs that are offered for free, or have similar counterparts on the web that are free as well.
b) B) I would say that it is still viewed as wrong, but if the case was ever brought before court the judge might be more lenient if the perpetrator deleted the software after its use. Under the circumstances of the crime and the nature of the offense, I highly doubt it would ever go that far, unless this was government property of the creator of the software was able to identify the offender and take them to court.
c) C) If the software was on the school’s network, it is more than likely free to students as University’s have contracts with software developers for licensing their product. Often times, the final fee of the developer and University’s agreement is allocated to the student by means of tuition. Regardless, if the software is made available then it is probably there for the use of the students. On a side note, Universities and other institutions have deals with developers that allow students to buy suites of software for a highly reduced price, in some cases you can bypass copyright infringements if it is proven that the “crime” was for educational purposes.
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