Software as a service is an excellent way to protect against piracy which is why its growing so fast. You can offer your client your software free that he could get through piracy but instead you keep him close and offer him a monthly service of improvements and support that the pirated software cannot offer. If he is unwilling to pay then a) he is not really interested b) he is not able to afford it . So you know that in his case piracy is not really a problem because he is not a potential client. Just because someone pirate something does not mean he is a potential client. Also piracy is not a new thing, I have been in front a computer since 1988 and piracy was there since day 1, software, games , music and film. Sure the internet made it easier but it was already super easy when I was teenager I had ton of pirated music because the price of a CD was certainly nowhere near my budget. The problem got worse because a) the industries became very, very greedy b) quality droped for the sake of mass production (especially true for the music industry) . So companies are 90% to blame here and not piracy.