Sad, but true, I am a criminal.

I bought an older version (V8 when V10 was current) of Adobe Illustrator from an auction on eBay, where the (german) text said „original Downloadversion“.

Delivered was a self-burned CD with hadwritten label - obviously a copy that Adobe did not intend to be.

I complained to the seller, got my money back, for me the case was closed.

2 Years later, 3 semi-friendly people, 2 police, one some other civil servant (as required by german due procedure) presented me with a court order to search my appartement, car and office.

For I had „willingly facilitated a pirated copy of an copyrighted work“.

My computers, were seized.

Including the - back then awefully expensive, new - flatscreen and the expensive trackball and adjustable keyboard. Excluding (fun fact) the external DVD burner.

Of course, no trace of the Illustrator copy was found.

I bought the thing to have a legal copy, since I was using it.

But I was later unable to prove that I paid for the VMWare Workstation (bought online while I lived in Switzerland), and some Games on the hard disk (the original boxes did not impress the police, they demanded bills) so I was accused of piracy and sentenced.

Technically that makes me a criminal: wanting to buy original software, being betrayed and then being unable to prove my innocence.

So that makes me a pirate in both senses.