united-states intellectual-property internet
It is considered copyright infringement to get paid apps free?
<p>It is a copyright infringement to use services that offer paid mobile apps for free? Various sources apparently say that is.</p>

<p>That depends on how one does it. If one simply hacks a site offering what are supposed to be paid services so as to get them for free, that is probably theft of services rather than copyright infringement.</p>
<p>If one uses someone else's ID/password without authorization to use an online service, that s probably  a violation of The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA), which has been codified at <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030" rel="nofollow noreferrer">18 U.S. Code § 1030</a> See <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/a/79767/17500">https://law.stackexchange.com/a/79767/17500</a> for more on the <a href="/questions/tagged/cfaa" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;cfaa&#39;" rel="tag">cfaa</a>.</p>
<p>If the app is normally downloadable for a fee, but one somehow bypasses the fee-charging part and downloads without permission, that is probably copyright infringement.</p>
<p>If the owner makes a gift of what is normally a paid app, that is a gift and in no way illegal or improper.</p>
<p>If you provided links to these &quot;various sources&quot;  or some of them. I or others here could evaluate them, and this answer might be improved n light o any context such sources provide.</p>
<p>If a more detailed scenario was provided, I might be able to improve this answer, or someone might be able to give a better one.</p>
