In 1993 worldwide illegal copying of domestic and .
5 billion to the software industry, .
2 billion in the United States alone. Estimates show .
that over 40 percent of U.S. software company revenues are generated .
overseas, yet nearly 85 percent of the software industry's piracy .
losses occurred outside of the United States borders. The Software .
Publishers Association indicated that approximately 35 percent of the .
business software in the United States was obtained illegally, which .
30 percent of the piracy occurs in corporate settings. In a corporate .
setting or business, every computer must have its own set of original .
software and the appropriate number of manuals. It is illegal for a .
corporation or business to purchase a single set of original software .
and then load that software onto more than one computer, or lend, copy .
or distribute software for any reason without the prior written .
consent of the software manufacturer. Many software managers are .
concerned with the legal compliance, along with asset management and .
costs at their organizations. Many firms involve their legal .
departments and human resources in regards to software distribution .
and licensing. .
Information can qualify to be property in two ways; patent law .
and copyright laws which are creations of federal statutes, pursuant .
to Constitutional grant of legislative authority. In order for the .
government to prosecute the unauthorized copying of computerized .
information as theft, it must first rely on other theories of .
information-as-property. Trade secret laws are created by state law, .
and most jurisdictions have laws that criminalize the violations of a .
trade-secret holder's rights in the secret. The definition of a trade .
secret varies somewhat from state to state, but commonly have the same .
elements. For example, AThe information must be secret, Anot of public .
knowledge or of general knowledge in the trade or business, a court .
