1.
Robbery committed at sea. Piracy is one of the world's oldest crimes and is a
risk in international trade. Captured pirates generally are tried in military courts. A company may
insure against injury or
loss of goods due to piracy.
2. The act or practice of making illegal copies of
copyrighted material. For example, printing copies of a book without the author's or publisher's permission may be piracy because neither receives any
compensation for
sales. Piracy is a major issue in online
commerce. It is common, for instance, for a private user to upload a video to a website and even
profit from views of that video without permission from or compensation to the copyright owners. The best way to prevent or prosecute this form of piracy remains a controversial issue.