Computer piracy is probably more common than people admit. Especially in the business world. All those companies have tons of money, so no problem, right? Sorry, afraid not. Yarrr! Its illegal!  Obviously, yeah. You want to save some money, but it could get you in trouble with the law.  Employees (especially disgruntled ex-employees), even customers who know you’re pirating can actually report you with the possibility of getting a cash reward/bounty if you get busted. nopiracy.org  The fines can be pretty bad (they’ve got rewards to pay out). https://techcrunch.com/2016/05/10/software-piracy-claims-can-ruin-your-business-and-reward-those-responsible/  While unlikely, a software vendor could possibly request an audit to make sure you’re in compliance. https://redmondmag.com/articles/2010/09/01/beware-the-bsa.aspx  Its not safe!  Trojans, malware, and viruses oh my!   Many common programs have inexpensive alternatives, even free/open-source ones.  LibreOffice or OpenOffice (OSS).  GIMP, Inkscape, and Scribus for some of Creative Cloud. Affinity and others for cheap.  Do you really NEED the big fancy name software?  Being paid/legit means you can get support from the company.  Important for updates.  Important for compliance within your industry (HIPPA).