When facing allegations of the use of pirated software, any legal strategy should be based on facts and legality, and must be carried out under the guidance of professional lawyers. The following are some ideas that may reduce liability within the legal framework, but it should be noted that the legal consequences vary from country to country, and specific cases need to be analyzed in combination with evidence and judicial practice.： --- ### **1. Prove that there is no subjective intent** -**Strategy**: Advocate ignorance of the pirated nature of the software (such as being misled when purchasing from a third party). -**Conditions**: Evidence such as purchase records, contracts, invoices, etc. need to be provided to prove that the source is seemingly legal. -**Risk**: If it is determined to be “known but unknown" (such as an obvious low-price purchase), it may not be established. --- ### **2. Reasonable misunderstanding of legal sources** -**Strategy**: For example, it was installed by the company's IT department, mistakenly thinking that it had been authorized. -**Conditions**: It is necessary to prove that there is a reliable third-party liability (such as the company's internal management process). -**Note**: Companies may be jointly and severally liable, but individuals can try to exempt them from liability. --- ### **3. Defense for non-commercial purposes (applicable in some jurisdictions)** -**Strategy**: If it is used for personal learning or non-profit purposes, some regions may reduce penalties. -**Restrictions**: Most countries such as China and the United States strictly prohibit piracy, regardless of the purpose; penalties are usually increased for commercial use. --- ### **4. Cooperate with investigation and proactive rectification** -**Strategy**: Immediately stop using, delete the software, and actively cooperate with the investigation. -**Effect**: It may be regarded as ”surrender“ or ”repentance", and some countries can reduce administrative penalties or criminal responsibilities. --- ### **5. Technical or authorization disputes** -**Strategy**: Question the attribution of software copyright or the scope of authorization (such as loopholes in the authorization agreement or server failures that lead to misjudgment). -**Conditions**: Technical experts or legal documents are required to support, such as proving that the software has an open source code dispute. --- ### **6. Compensation and settlement negotiation** -**Strategy**: Take the initiative to compensate the copyright party for its losses and strive for settlement and withdrawal of the lawsuit. -**Applicable scenarios**: In civil disputes, the copyright party may pay more attention to economic compensation. --- ### **7. Defense of procedural legality** -**Strategy**: Question the legality of the evidence collection process (such as illegal searches or incomplete evidence chains). -**Conditions**: Lawyers are required to conduct professional reviews of law enforcement procedures. --- ### **8. Personal special circumstances (consider as appropriate)** -**Strategy**: Propose circumstances such as economic difficulties and first-time violations of the law, and strive for lighter penalties. -**Restrictions**: The “minor circumstances” clause must be clearly stipulated by law, and cannot be used as the main defense. --- ###**Important reminder：** 1. **Legal differences**： -In accordance with the "Copyright Law" and "Regulations on the Protection of Computer Software" in China, commercial use or large-scale dissemination may constitute a criminal offense (Article 217 of the Criminal Law). -In the United States, according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), penalties may include high compensation and imprisonment. -EU countries usually have strict civil compensation and criminal penalties. 2. **Avoid high-risk behaviors**： -Falsification of evidence or false statements may increase penalties (such as obstruction of justice). -Deleting evidence (such as forcibly formatting a hard disk) may constitute a crime of destroying evidence. 3. **Prevention is better than remedy**： -Use open source software or subscribe to genuine services (such as enterprise volume licensing). -Regularly review the source of the software and keep the proof of purchase. --- ###**Recommended action steps：** 1. **Stop using it immediately**: Prevent continuous infringement. 2. **Collect evidence**: keep purchase records, communication records, etc. 3. **Consult a lawyer**: Priority is given to contacting a professional lawyer in the field of intellectual property. 4. **Assess risks**: Distinguish between civil compensation, administrative penalties, or criminal liability (for example, the “serious circumstances” standard in China's Criminal Law is illegal profit of more than 50,000 yuan or dissemination of more than 500 copies). Legal issues need to be treated with caution. The above information does not constitute legal opinions. Please refer to the lawyer's analysis for specific cases.