Quote:
Originally Posted by calvin-c
Theft is the taking of property without the owner's permission. It seems to me that copyright law says that the right to reproduce a book is the property of the author.
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The first statement I agree with, but I'm not so sure about the second. Does copyright law say "the right to reproduce a book is the
property of the author" or does it say "the right to reproduce a book is
a right granted by the govenment to the author".
I am coming to the conclusion that violation of copyright is a breach of a government granted monopoly, but it isn't "theft". Theft and copyright violations are distinct infractions, just as vandalism may deprive someone of property but is not theft.