Regardless of whether piracy is or isn't a theft, it's actually a pretty good example. The fact is, people can and are fined and imprisoned for piracy. And yet this fact is very remote to most people who pirate copyrighted content.
Re:If Prisoners Ran Prisons
by imaginenore on Monday November 14, 2016 @05:14AM
(#12948727)
I don't think many people are imprisoned for piracy, if any. I'm not talking about filming in a movie theater, i'm talking downloading content for free.
Re:If Prisoners Ran Prisons
by rincebrain on Monday November 14, 2016 @05:26AM
(#12948775)
I should have specified; I did not intend to actually weigh in on whether or not it was analogous to theft of material goods, just that people had a vague notion that it was acquiring something without paying for it and that it was not legally permissible.
Digital piracy is not theft. It's like taking pictures in a museum when it's not allowed. It's taking a picture of public buildings in the wrong country. It's copyright infringement and an issue for the civil court, not the criminal court.
Edit: your other points are good though :)