Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
With all due respect, that's always the story. That somehow, the pirate is going to spread the word, creating WOM (word-of-mouth) enthusiasm, which will result in sales, right?
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If the pirate downloader spreads the word and increases the sales for the copyright holder that doesn't change the fact that the downloader infringed the copyright. Whether it helps the author/publisher or not it's still an immoral act.
I think we need to decide whether we're talking about morals or legalities. It's hard to talk about both at the same time and get anywhere.
As someone said earlier, a copyright is a contract with a rights holder, enforced by the government. It's perfectly possible to believe, as I do, that that agreement has been stretched way beyond reasonable limits, and still believe that contracts should be respected. I don't like copyright law as it stands. But it's what we've got and if society ignores laws it's always worse off.
My brother in law, Charlie, had a father who, decades ago, had a best friend who, when he found white gravel on Charlie's father's farm, offered him $100 a year for the right to quarry it. Soon he developed that into a multi-million dollar business. Charlie's father took his friend to court and the judge ruled that there's no provision in law that says the contract has to be fair. These are my words as i remember them. I don't remember the exact words the judge used but basically they meant that. Charlie's father got $100 a year for the rest of his life while his friend became wealthy. If you see white rock decorative gravel in a store that's where it comes from.
Copyright stopped being fair long ago. But it's what we have.
Barry