Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Why not? They paid for it, just like they paid for a physical book that is later determined to be infringing on copyright. It's not like stolen property--nobody else is "missing" the one they bought.
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All of that is true, but the legal principle which applies is that when you buy something, you can only acquire the property rights that the seller has to sell.
The seller of infringing property by definition does not have any ownership rights in the property. The copyright laws place the ownership in the copyright owner as long as we are within the copyright period. So the seller can't sell you what he doesn't have, no matter that you paid him for it.
Obama can't sell you my car. You can pay him for it if you want, but it matters not. It's still my car, not yours.
This is not really debatable as a legal matter. It's fundamental to property law.