Computer software is protected by copyright law and international copyright treaties as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. Copyright law and other intellectual property laws in many countries protect the rights of a software owner by granting to the owner a number of exclusive rights, including the right to reproduce or "copy" the software. Copying software without the permission of the owner is "copyright infringement," and the law imposes penalties on infringers.

You make a "copy" of a software program whenever you: (a) load the software into your computer's temporary memory by running the program from a floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, or other storage medium; (b) copy the software to other media such as a floppy disk or your computer's hard disk; or (c) run the program on your computer from a network server on which the software is resident or stored.

Almost all commercial computer software is licensed directly or indirectly from the copyright owner — the software publisher — for use by the customer through a type of contract called an "End User License Agreement" (also known as a EULA). Different products might have different types of EULAs.

Provided that you accept its terms, the EULA gives you permission to use the software and grants you some additional rights. The EULA also imposes certain restrictions on your use of the software. The EULA includes the "Grant of License" section, which describes how you may use the software. Also included in the EULA are restrictions against reverse engineering, leasing, or renting the software, and other restrictions that apply to the particular software. In addition, the EULA describes the terms under which you may make a backup or archival copy of the software, and it details the limited warranty provided for the product.

What is the significance of the End User License Agreement (EULA) for Soft Plus products?

Your use of Soft Plus products is governed by the terms of the EULA, as well as by copyright law. The EULA is the contract regarding your use of the licensed product, and it grants you a specific right to use the Soft Plus software on your computer.

Software piracy is the unauthorized copying, reproduction, use, or manufacture of software product(s) protected by International copyright law. On average, for every authorized copy of computer software in use, at least one unauthorized or "pirated" copy is made. In some countries, up to 99 unauthorized copies are made for every authorized copy in use. Software piracy harms all software companies and ultimately you, the end user. Piracy results in higher prices for duly licensed users and reduced levels of support for users; piracy also results in delays in the funding and development of new products, causing the overall selection and quality of software to suffer.

Piracy harms all software publishers, regardless of their size. Software publishers spend years developing software for the public to use. A portion of every dollar spent in purchasing original software is funneled back into research and development so that better, more advanced software products can be produced. When you purchase pirated software, your money goes directly into the pockets of software pirates instead.

Software piracy also harms the local and national economies. Fewer legitimate software sales result in lost tax revenue and decreased employment. Software piracy greatly hinders the development of local software communities. If software publishers cannot sell their products in the legitimate market, they have no incentive to continue developing programs. Many software publishers won't enter markets where the piracy rates are too high, because they will not be able to recover their development costs.

What are the types of software piracy?

There are five basic forms of software piracy, and all are damaging both to the software copyright owner and to the end user. The following are the five basic types of piracy:

• "Softlifting" or End User copying   This form of piracy occurs when extra copies of a program are made within an organization for employees to use. "Disk swapping" among friends and associates outside of a business environment is also included in this category.
• Hard-disk loading   Some computer dealers install unauthorized copies of software on the hard disks of the computers they offer for sale, as an incentive for an end user to purchase a computer from that particular dealer.
• Counterfeiting   This is the illegal duplication and sale of copyrighted software, often in a form designed to make the product appear legitimate. Software counterfeiting can be very sophisticated, involving significant efforts to replicate packaging, logos, and anti-counterfeiting techniques such as holograms. Counterfeiting can also be unsophisticated, involving inferior-looking or handwritten labels, with disks folded into a plastic bag and sold on street corners. In any form, software counterfeiting is very damaging to both the software developer and legitimate end users.
• Bulletin board piracy   This form of piracy occurs when copyrighted software is downloaded by users connected by means of a modem to a public or semi-private electronic bulletin board. Bulletin board piracy should not be confused with sharing public-domain software or providing "shareware." Shareware is software that might be copyrighted but is generally offered for little or no charge by the author for nearly unrestricted use, including copying or sharing with others. Soft Plus might provide Freeware, Shareware, updates or enhancements over bulletin boards or online services that are for use solely with licensed Soft Plus products. Any unauthorized Soft Plus software available over a bulletin board is considered illegal. Please refer to Soft Plus Freeware EULA for details.
• Software rental   This is when software is illegally "rented" to end users who, typically, permanently copy the "rented" software to their computer's hard disk and then return the copy to the renter. There are three types of software rental piracy: a product rented from a retail outlet for use on the renter's home or office computer; a product rented through mail-order "clubs"; and a product installed on a computer that is, in turn, rented for temporary use. In some cases, Soft Plus may authorizes a company to rent or lease computers on which Soft Plus products are installed. In those cases, the company is required, as part of the rental or lease agreement, to have the renter agree to the terms of the End User License Agreement (EULA) for Soft Plus software.

There are several warning signs to alert you to the fact that the software products installed on your hard disk at the time of purchase or available on the retail store shelf are illegal. For instance, Soft Plus legally licenses preinstall application software to computer manufacturers to include with their computers for sale. However, Soft Plus's agreement with computer manufacturers prohibits them from selling and/or distributing Soft Plus products by themselves, without an accompanying computer.

Generally Soft Plus software distributed on the retail shelf are manufactured only by Soft Plus and should not bear the trade name of any other company. Soft Plus software distributed on the retail shelf should never include on the front cover of the user's guide a line such as the following: "For Sale Only With A New PC," "For Distribution Only With A New PC," "For Distribution Only With A New PC," or "For distribution with new PC hardware only. Not to be sold as a stand-alone product."

Additional warning signs of illegal software products include:

• No End User License Agreement (EULA).
• No Certificate of Authenticity for most products accompanying a new computer system.
• No backup CD-ROMs, manuals or quick start guides, EULA, and/or Certificate of Authenticity included as packaged product inside the computer box.
• The backup disks that the computer dealer or store gives you contain handwritten labels, are not shrink-wrapped, and/or appear to be inferior in quality.
• The manual(s) that the computer dealer or store gives you are photocopied, are not shrink-wrapped, and/or are poorly printed.
• The person who sold you your computer offers to install software for free — or for a nominal fee — at the time you purchase your computer, without providing packages for the software.
• Product upgrades available on the retail shelf do not contain the specified security features (including Certificate of Authenticity label for all retail Soft Plus products).
• No fulfillment mechanism (such as a mail-in card) for backup disks and/or manuals for software preinstalled on a new computer that does not come with packaged software inside the computer box.
•  The software product that you acquired from the retail shelf without also purchasing a new computer contains on the front cover of the user's guide a line such as the following: "For Sale Only With A New PC," or "For distribution with new PC hardware. Not to be sold as a stand-alone product."

No. The Certificate of Authenticity is a security device that accompanies all Soft Plus products distributed with a computer by an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). The Certificate of Authenticity is used to assure the end user that the software program(s) accompanying the computer system is legally licensed Soft Plus software. For instance, if you purchased a computer system from a computer store and it came with Soft application software preinstalled on the hard disk, separate Certificates of Authenticity should also be included inside the computer box. If you suspect you might have pirated software, or you have concerns about the legal ramifications of using such software, please email our Piracy Control Section piracy@softplusltd.com.

Do I still need to keep my copy of upgraded Soft Plus Software as part of my legally acquired product?

Yes. All copies together are treated as a single product, regardless of how many upgrade versions you've acquired.

Can I transfer the End User License Agreement (EULA) to someone else?

Yes, as long as you have a legitimate license to use the software, your product is not a subscription-based software product, and you follow the terms of transfer outlined in your EULA. You may not rent or lease Soft Plus software, but you may transfer all of your rights under the EULA on a permanent basis.

If your Soft Plus product was acquired with a computer system, you may transfer all of your rights under the EULA as part of a sale or transfer of that computer system, provided that you also transfer all copies of the software and all written materials, including the EULA itself and, where applicable, the Certificate of Authenticity.

If your Soft Plus product was acquired separate from a computer system, you may transfer all of your rights under the Soft Plus EULA, provided that you also transfer all copies of the software and all written materials, including the EULA itself. Prior to transferring your rights, you must remove all copies of the software product from your computer.

You may not transfer any subscription-based software products.

For any valid transfer, the software recipient must agree to the terms of the EULA.

Any transfer must also include your most recent product update, as well as any prior versions of the Soft Plus product, because the original full product and the upgrade product together are considered a single software unit.

If you want to sell or transfer software that was bought and licensed under a Soft Plus License, you must sell or transfer all the product copies to a single new owner. Soft Plus License cannot be broken up, even on resale.

How can I be certain I have legitimate Soft Plus software if it came preinstalled on my computer's hard disk?

Soft Plus licenses some computer manufacturers to preinstall application software directly on the hard disks of their computers for sale. For Soft Plus software, the computer manufacturers must include inside the computer box an End User License Agreement (EULA) either in the documentation or online within the software, and, for system software and most applications, a Certificate of Authenticity either in the documentation or as a label applied to the computer. In most instances, computer manufacturers also include manual(s) and a set of software disks or a CD-ROM. Sometimes Soft Plus branded OEM CD-ROMs include, edge-to-edge holograms.

Can I make a second copy for my portable computer?

The End User License Agreement (EULA) for some Soft Plus application software products contains the following sentence: "If you run a business or enterprise, you may install a second copy of the Software Product on a portable Device owned by you for the exclusive use of the person within your business or enterprise who is the user of the primary copy of the Software Product, provided that such person only uses the second copy for business purposes." If your EULA contains this sentence, then, subject to the conditions mentioned, you may make a second copy of the software. Note that the software must be installed on the local hard disk of your computer; you are not entitled to make and use a second copy on your portable computer if you run the primary copy of the software from a network server. These rights also do not apply to subscription-based software products.

Do I still have to keep my old version of the product if I don't upgrade but purchase a completely new version?

No, this is a new product and you can even transfer the old version. However, as you acquire upgrades for the new product, you must retain both that product and the upgrade versions, which together serve as a single product.

The EULA is an important part of your software product and should always accompany legally licensed Soft Plus software. If you work for a company that has delegated software purchasing and management to a system administrator, the system administration department should be able to supply you with proof that your software is legally licensed. If you purchased your software from a store, through an e-commerce site, or even from an individual, and a EULA did not accompany the product, you might have received illegal software. Illegal software, commonly called "pirated software," might expose you and/or your business to legal liabilities. If