Digital piracy is theft. Regardless of what it’s called—“file sharing,” “warez,” etc.—it’s a very real problem that hurts us all. 

In 2019, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shared that digital piracy costs the U.S. economy $30 billion annually. The effects of this missing revenue include job losses, business closures, and the cessation of beloved products and services.

Digital piracy steals from content creators. And when a person steals something, they send a resounding message to creators that they don’t deserve to be paid for their work. If a creator doesn’t feel appreciated, then they may be incentivized to stop creating entirely. 

Along with the original product, all of the free content and expertise this person offers will disappear. They will leave the community, causing it to shrink by their absence.

These creators are people with hopes and dreams and bills, just like everyone else. 

Many of these content creators are self-employed artists who have taken time and great care to help make Renderosity what it is.

To protect our creators, we maintain a zero-tolerance policy regarding the theft of intellectual property. Our reaction to IP theft is an immediate, permanent ban from Renderosity. Violators will lose access to our network of expert creators, and will never be eligible to buy or sell legitimate items on the site. All of the perks of being a Renderosity member—including the free items that many members use—will be gone forever. 

While laws pertaining to such matters vary from one country to another, users should know that Renderosity will also be more than willing to supply community members with relevant information in a court of law if someone steals their IP. And we encourage users or vendors to report violations on our site when they see them. 

If it happens on the Renderosity site, then email us immediately: copyrights@renderosity.com

If it happens outside of Renderosity, then we encourage the creators to report the violation directly to the site where the violation occurred. Many of these sites will only respond if the creator contacts them directly. Vendors should also take the initiative in policing your own IP and file a DMCA complaint. 

If you see something, say something to the right people. Digital pirates are often pretty stupid, and don’t seem to realize that creators can figure out who has the rights to what. This can be done by cross-referencing a particular user to their list of buyers, which takes only moments to do. 

To anyone considering digital piracy: Is it really worth the risk? Along with the risk of getting caught, it’s possible that illegally downloaded files might be corrupted. They also might be housing some sort of malware just waiting to get into your system. These sites bear no responsibility if you damage your hardware through breaking the law or violating their terms. 

Support your creators. Without them, the world is a very ugly place.