America is strong because of its people and its values. By protecting the property of inventors, the government is thanking inventors, creators and engineers for their hard work. Without their creativy and curiosity, our world would be really different and perhaps more difficult. There would be no technology, no light, and we wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other so easily with people far away.

When these inventors created their inventions, they really changed our world and, in many instances, made it an easier and safer place to live in. We use their intellectual property all the time.  When we read a book, listen to music, play a video game, or watch a movie, we are using intellectual property.  We are allowed to use that property because we purchased the book, the music, the software or the movie. You already know that most intellectual property is protected through a patent, copyright, or trademark that is recorded and registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. So when we make a copy of someone else's property without the creator's permission, piracy is being committed. Piracy means stealing the property.  You don’t buy it so you don’t have the creator’s permission to use it.  Copying or downloading protected work without the permission of the owner of the intellectual property is against the law.

Some people might use the excuse that they didn’t know the property was protected. Not knowing is not a valid excuse. You must make yourself knowledgeable by learning how to recognize copyrighted material.One way is to look for these marks - © and ®.  ©  means a copyright has been granted to the property and protected by law. ® means that the property is a registered trademark (brand name) and is also protected. If you can’t find one of these marks, however, it doesn’t mean that the work isn’t protected. You must investigate further and look for licensing limits or terms for use.

One example of piracy is downloading music from the Internet.  If you do not pay for the download, you are breaking the law. If you copy your friend’s CD, you are breaking the law. You are also hurting the composers because they are not getting paid for their work. You are preventing them from making a living.  It is also wrong because you are also hurting other people.  If the composer doesn’t get paid, he or she doesn’t have enough money to pay the record producer or the musicians. Some people don’t consider this stealing because they are not physically taking something.  Just because you don’t go into a store and actually steal the CD or DVD, it’s still the same.  You are taking something that doesn’t belong to you!

Pharmaceuticals (drug companies) are also harmed by piracy. It harms them because other people are copying and selling their patented medicines and stealing the money the companies are entitled to under a patent. This money enables the pharmaceuticals to reinvest in their companies and help discover new drugs that can cost millions of dollars to develop. In addition, these fake drugs might be dangerous and cause death. Pharmaceuticals research and test their products for safety.

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