Quote:
Originally Posted by meeera
I did not say that copyright infringement is not law-breaking. (I do question what harm is incurred in much on-paper "infringement", given some astonishingly overzealous lawmaking, but that's another discussion.)
Many laws explicitly exclude intangibles from theft/stealing laws, either in the law or by precedent. Or you could read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyrig...nt#.22Theft.22
(I see you're in the USA: your Supreme Court, in fact, said that "interference with copyright does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud. The infringer of a copyright does not assume physical control over the copyright nor wholly deprive its owner of its use. Infringement implicates a more complex set of property interests than does run-of-the-mill theft, conversion, or fraud.".)
and here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft
and follow the links therein.
Or, of course, you could decide I'm just a nasty dirty criminal with nothing of value to contribute. That would sure be easier. |
We have had the discussion here before and people have posted the relevant legislative cites where infringement IS termed theft in law. That's why I said "in many places."
The SCOTUS reference you post reads as a serious consideration.
"[C]opyright infringement is not theft" as you put it, reads like a dismissal.