Quote:
Originally Posted by RichL
You're saying there's a difference between stealing with intend to defraud and stealing just for the hell of it?
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No, that's not what I said at all, and if you think I did, then you didn't understand anything I said. Go back and re-read it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichL
Just out of curiosity how would you refer to a person that downloads and uses a product without paying for it. Say for instance a copy of TurboCAD Pro Platinum 18 which sells for about $1400?
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The term you're looking for is "software pirate". It's only theft if the person they take if from is deprived of their copy of the software, and that's not the case. When you steal from someone, they actually lose the object you're stealing. With illegal downloads that is not the case, and since one download =|= one lost sale, continuing to call it theft is hyperbole at best, propaganda at worst.
If I hack into your computer and copy the installer file to a program you've paid for, you haven't lost a thing, because you still have the program there. The same goes for your music, ebooks, or movies. If you still have them, they weren't stolen.