[nybble41]

> but it's not legal

Not in the U.S., no, but is it illegal in Venezuela? They are under no obligation to recognize U.S. copyright claims. Or any copyright claims, for that matter. And why would they, given that the U.S. is enforcing sanctions against them?

[penagwin]

I was wondering this yesterday too - Is it stealing if it's not for sale (so there is no lost revenue)?

My gut reaction is that if Venezuela is apart of any of the international trade laws then it'd still be illegal but there's essentially no way in practice you'd get in trouble for it (Assuming you're a Venezuelan citizen and you aren't like blatantly selling it in the street or something).

[nybble41]

It's not "stealing" regardless of whether the software is for sale. Whether it's illegal in Venezuela is a question of local Venezuelan law. If Venezuela is part of a treaty which requires them to enforce copyright laws then they can simply withdraw from that treaty; it's unlikely that they would be benefitting much from it at this point. Or, without withdrawing altogether, they might be able to get an international ruling that voiding U.S. copyright claims within their jurisdiction is a justified response to the U.S. trade sanctions—other countries have succeeded in that approach before. (I forget where but IIRC it had something to do with U.S. restrictions against online gambling, which is a lesser provocation than this general trade embargo.)