Re:Copyright Infringement != Theft
by tptacek on Tuesday June 03, 2008 @12:29AM
(#207623)
You still haven't rescued this from semantics. What's intuitively wrong is freeloading. Tax evasion is a criminal offense, even though it too is simply an example of freeloading.
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I'm not sure what there is to rescue. I feel like I'm repeating myself.
Matt's argument, however implicit, was that copyright infringement is wrong because it's a kind of theft. It's not, nor has it ever been and therefore his argument is fallacious.
If that's a semantic argument then I guess I'll have to live with that.
Re:Copyright Infringement != Theft
by yummyfajitas on Tuesday June 03, 2008 @09:48AM
(#207868)
Why is freeloading wrong? Or tax evasion, for that matter?
In any case, here is the argument. Theft is wrong because it violates the individual right of the property owner.
Copyright exists to provide a temporary incentive for content creators to continue producing. It's not a natural right, it's a collective bargain between the public and content producers. "You get a 14 year monopoly to make some money, please continue writing songs."
That bargain was broken a long time ago (roughly Mickey Mouse invention date + 14 years).