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Originally Posted by MCSmarties
There is no such thing as "pirating" or "stealing" intellectual property.
It's properly called "copying".
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I've already made the point that the physical act is copying rather than stealing. But as in the case of the patron who sneaks into an almost-empty bar with a cover charge, what's being stolen is the paid experience and the repercussions are in the precedent and the collective result.
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Whether it is "right" or "wrong" to do so is a separate question, even offical opinion differs quite widely between European and American legislators (see the controversy about ACTA).
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I'm not arguing about the mindset of the person who downloads a torrent of a book -- I'm not interested in Boolean ideas about their morality. I'm only talking about possible pragmatic repercussions -- financial and artistic -- for the person who created the work.
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But at least people should be aware that the semantics in this case have been greatly distorted by the publishing industry. questioncopyright.org attemps to discuss this philosophical question in depth.
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No doubt the copyright issue has been manipulated by powerful and shady individuals. No doubt some artists have benefited from the exposure afforded by free distribution (even as Metallica alienated the world by insisting no artist could).
But don't assume that anyone who makes the argument that authors should be paid is in favor of the actions of the RIAA or the excessive litigation and retaliation of huge publishers and music labels. The same companies that favor threats and stiff penalties for piracy often steal from the original artists as well. No point in framing either side as inherently pure or corrupt.