I read so many posts about pirated software and for that life of me I can't see why anyone with such a big investment in a CNC would even consider not paying the $175 for a license.
I'm retrofitting a Shizouka mill now and after I get it running and verify Mach will work for me I'll buy the license ASAP. A 500 line limit is something I can't live with :-)
We have found that in many cases, where people buy machines / controllers / etc. from China, they are supplied with a disk containing a copy of Mach3 together with a pirate license and often these disks come with additional, pirated CAD / CAM software. Those purchasing and using these components are often unaware that the license is fake and genuinely believe they have purchased the real thing. Once it has been pointed out to them many then go on to buy the genuine licence having found there are a few machine operational problems when using the fake license.
As you say $175 is a small price to pay for such excellent software.
Tweakie.