In one of my earlier posts I wrote: “Using stolen software won’t give you the reputation you need to succeed as a freelancer.” One of our readers took exception to this and posted a rebuttal, saying:

“How’s anyone going to know whether you paid for your software or not? Will there be a huge “this document was created using pirated software” watermark on each page?

Using pirated software = lower overhead = being business smart.”

On the face of it, that may not sound like a bad idea. It is much cheaper if you don’t have to pay for things; free is the lowest possible price. There won’t be a watermark on each page either.

That’s not the point.

We’ve talked about Intellectual Property (IP) here on the blog before. Whether we are writers, designers or programmers, intellectual property is something we all have to consider. Yes, most of what we do is work-for-hire, but that doesn’t make property rights less important.

The only reason any of us get paid is because people believe intellectual property is worth money. Work-for-hire exists because we as creators need compensation before we can give up our intellectual property rights to the buyer.

When you pirate software you’re making a statement: You’re saying that other people’s intellectual property rights don’t matter. Even if no one else knows your software is pirated, you’ve convinced yourself that the creators’ IP is less important than your need for the software.

That’s your first step down a slippery slope.

Once you’ve made the decision to pirate your software, it becomes that much easier to take further liberties with other people’s IP. It can start small, “borrowing” a picture or short phrase or snippet of text without worrying about checking out whether it’s available for use. You start falling into the trap of the pigs in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Remember the line “Some pigs are more equal than others?”

Selling works you create with pirated software is saying your IP rights are more important than those of the people or company who created the software. If you deserve to get paid for your work then so do they. Otherwise you’re a hypocrite.

I used to have a supervisor who always talked about the need to be “in integrity.” While I can fault his English I can’t fault the idea.  Your work always reflects not only the amount of effort you put into it but also the kind of effort you put into it.  If you’re not putting your own efforts into the job it will show.  It may not show to someone who hires you for a small one-time job but it will affect you on any long-term jobs.

We’ve talked a lot on this blog about being buyer-focused.  I’d go so far as to say that  buyer-focus is the key to success for an online freelancer.  When you start cutting corners on your work such as using pirated software or plagiarized text you’re moving away from a buyer-focused mentality to one that’s focused on yourself.  You’re worrying more about meeting your needs for money than the buyer’s needs.

It will show.

The more you continue to work this way the more you are likely to find work disappearing.  Buyers check for plagiarism, because they’re the ones who have to take the heat for it.  If they find it, you won’t be working for them for very long.  You’ll also find that work disappears just because people who are buyer-focused will have better profiles and write better cover letters than you do.

When it comes right down to it, the problem is that while pirated software won’t necessarily hurt you, the mindset that comes with using it will.

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