Copyright Infringement in the Context of Software Protection and License Management Systems

Meaning & goals in software protection 

Copyright infringements cost software developers worldwide up to USD 46 billion annually (source: BSA Global Software Survey 2025). Modern license management systems aim to: 

1. Protect code integrity 

2. Automatically enforce license compliance 

3. Reduce piracy rates through technical barriers 

Important elements of protection

Factors influencing copyright infringements

- Technological development: AI-supported cracking tools (e.g. DeepCoder AI 2025) 

- Legal framework conditions: EU Directive 2024/123 on the liability of platform operators 

- Economic incentives: Up to 80% price advantage for pirated copies (source: BSA Report 2025) 

- Cultural acceptance: 32% of millennials see software piracy as a "harmless trivial offense" 

Advantages of effective protection systems 

For companies: 

✅ +25% revenue protection through license compliance 

✅ -90% audit risks with automated reporting 

✅ AI-supported threat detection in real time

For users: 

🔐 Transparent usage rights via self-service portals 

⚡ Automated license renewals with Google Pay/Apple Pay

Current case study (2025) 

Incident: A medium-sized mechanical engineering company uses CAD software with manipulated licenses. 

Solution: 

1. Detection by machine learning algorithms in the license manager 

2. Automated blocking via Google Cloud solutions

3. Claim for damages of EUR 1.2 million based on usage data 

Future trends & forecasts 

- By 2027, 75% of all software licenses will be validated using blockchain (Gartner 2025) 

- AI-driven compliance checks reduce manual audits by 60% 

- New EU regulation from Q3/2025: Liability for open source code in commercial software 

Conclusion

Modern software protection systems are no longer an option - they are essential for survival. With the explosion of SaaS models and IoT devices, the attack surface is increasing exponentially. Companies that invest in AI-supported license management tools such as Google Cloud's Anthos not only protect themselves legally, but also gain valuable market insights through usage analyses.