Up until the last couple of years software piracy in the UK was a civil offence but it was reclassified as a criminal offence. The logic behind this was that many, alledgedlty, of the major suppliers for profit were actually organised crime gangs. Selling pirated software was a means of raising funds to purchase and sell hard drugs. Based on this train of thought it was reclassified as a criminal offence. The establishment in the UK are calling for prison sentences for the more extreme cases.

America calls the tunes and it is only a matter of time till the rest of the world follows suit. This isn't meant as a cheap jibe jab at America or Americans, just a comment based on the fact that the American market is the biggest and most powerful in the world and when it sneezes everyone else catches the cold.