Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
To my mind, it's all theft - taking someone else's property without their permission.
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Perhaps that could provide a clue to the problem.
In English law I believe there has to be an intention to permanently deprive that someone else of that particular property to qualify as theft. (Any attempts to ignore this point will, often rightly, be considered as a form of subterfuge, or disrespect for the law. No, make that 'The Law.' If it is ignored, carrying off someone else's umbrella by mistake will be theft.)
This is a tricky area -- but it does focus the attention on what is really being stolen. And that is *not* the book (or the film, or the music), but the right to decide.
Steal a car -- sure. Steal a book ... except it isn't the book I steal but rather I refuse to accept the author's rights to dispose of that book according to his wishes ... (and that's a can of worms by itself) ... and you can't make a 10 second MTV soundbite out of *that*, and suddenly things start to seem complicated.