Quote:
Originally Posted by Kumabjorn
You really think the legal system should encourage family members to turn on each other in order to avoid prosecution for IP theft?
In my mind, and perhaps I'm alone, downloading pirated material is at most a misdemeanor, uploading and making it available, on the other hand, is a felony.
When I was a kid some of us would record some new Beatles or Rolling Stones album on cassette tape and spread it among our closest friends, the unspoken rule was that when the next album appeared someone else had to buy it and record it for the others. That way we would all have access to more music than we could afford. Pirating? Most likely, from a strict legal view point. However, the authorities soon realized that they didn't want to overcrowd juvenile delinquent centers with music crazed teenagers, nor would they like the police to go searching homes for tapes (who knew what was recorded by whom). The solution was an added tax on music tapes, the proceed going to STIM (music copyright license distribution) that would distribute that income according to album sales.
Obviously, right now there is a problem doing the same thing with digital content since there is no product to tax. USB memories are used for other things than distributing copyrighted material.
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If someone in the family buys stuff and then makes copies to distribute to family members, of course you shouldn't turn them in. But if someone in your family habitually downloads illegal materials? Obviously you should try to get the person to stop on his or her own. If that doesn't work, a small run in with the law and an appropriate fine may just be the wake up call that person needs before he or she progresses to do even worse things.