The RIAA has just reached settlements ranging from $12K to $17.5K with 4 college students it claimed operated music file sharing networks on campuses. The article reported by Wired.com.

Also, was just reading another article at Wired about the impact software piracy has on the economy...

"...a recent IDC study commissioned by the BSA (Business Software Alliance) found that cracking down on software piracy could dramatically increase the number of jobs and stimulate economies around the world.

According to the study, four in 10 software products are illegally copied worldwide. If the piracy rate dropped to 30 percent, economic growth could increase by $400 billion and it would create 1.5 million jobs and generate $64 billion in taxes."

I believe that the underlying problem to piracy is the fact that software, whether computer application or the latest music CD, is significantly overpriced. I don't know too many people who can afford to purchase at retail every software package they use, or every CD they listen to. Does this mean they shouldn't do any work or listen to any new music?

This is why I believe most people therefore break the law by making an illegal copy because they just can't justify spending the money. If software was more reasonably priced, doesn't it stand to reason that more people would pay for it rather than doing something they know is wrong?