piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: an act of robbery on the high seas

also : an act resembling such robbery

2

: robbery on the high seas

3

a

: the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright

b

: the illicit accessing of broadcast signals

Synonyms

• pirating

Examples of piracy in a Sentence

piracy on the high seas

many countries have harsh penalties for piracy now

Recent Examples on the Web

The country is building a railway system that will link Europe with India, bypassing the threat of modern piracy in areas like the Indian Ocean and in the process and speed up shipments. —Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 21 Sep. 2023

As the music industry has become more global, IFPI also created the IFPI Global Charts and in 2015, IFPI struck a blow to piracy by aligning the global release of new music to Fridays. —Richard Smirke, Billboard, 20 July 2023

The signing comes at a time when CAP’s most recent annual consumer surveys show that 54% of consumers in Indonesia access pirate services in 2023, the fourth highest incidence of piracy in the region. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 Aug. 2023

The music industry has been the canary in the coal mine for many technologies, including piracy, and has been among the first in the entertainment field to have to grapple with generative AI that mimics specific artists’ styles and voices. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 16 Aug. 2023

Leveraging its mammoth broadcasting deals with Europe’s top soccer leagues, the company threatened to end them unless the leagues helped crack down on Saudi piracy. —Sarath Ganji, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2023

Globally, piracy is estimated to cost the entertainment industry $71 billion per year and has exploded in recent years. —Chris Morris, Fortune, 1 May 2023

The subscription model for Waves seemed imminent, with most of the bigger names in audio software already offering subscriptions for production software libraries in order to create higher recurring revenue and prevent piracy. —Andrew Marino, The Verge, 30 Mar. 2023

The Indian parliament has passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, which aims to curb piracy that causes losses of INR200 billion ($2.4 billion) to the film industry, according to government estimates. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 1 Aug. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin piratia, from Late Greek peirateia, from Greek peiratēs pirate

First Known Use

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing piracy

• anti-piracy
• air piracy

• anti-piracy
• air piracy

Kids Definition

piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: robbery on the high seas

2

: the use of another's production or invention without permission

Legal Definition

piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: an act of robbery especially on the high seas

specifically : an illegal act of violence, detention, or plunder committed for private ends by crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft against another ship or aircraft on the high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state see also air piracy

2

a

: the unauthorized copying, distribution, or use of another's production (as a film) especially in infringement of a copyright

software piracy

b

: the unauthorized use, interception, or receipt of encoded communications (as satellite cable programming) especially to avoid paying fees for use

the statute's purpose is to proscribe the piracy of programming signals

—United States v. Harrell, 983 F.2d 36 (1993)

3

: the crime of committing piracy