Quote:
Originally Posted by mrkai
It isn't theft because you aren't depriving anyone of property. No one ca steal a copy of an electronic anything from anyone, because they still have it.
"Potential revenue' isn't YOUR property. "Potential revenue" isn't...anything 
You are infringing on their exclusive distribution rights. So no, an electronic version of a property by definition, and law, cannot be stolen. |
But you can "steal" someone's ideas at our job and say it was your idea. I don't think the legal definition of "stealing and/or theft" is limited to something you can actually "touch." If I spend all day blogging at work and not working, but am getting paid (because they believe me to be working), that is "stealing" their time. Time is just as intangible as electrons, but we can still visualize it as something that can be "stolen."
If I "stole" your identity by seeing your Social Security number (here in US anyway), used it to create lots of credit for myself, and it cost you "potential revenue" because you wouldn't be able to buy a house because the lenders would look at your background and think that you were an undisciplined spender, that would be considered "stealing" wouldn't it. I mean, I didn't take any of your property or your cash from the bank, but my actions kept you from making an investment.