Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thornton
Is this some technical use of the word copy? Surely, if there is a file on a server, and I download it, the file stays there, and I now have a copy on my computer - I've copied it. I've copied their copy.
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That's an awfully round about way to put a label on the behavior that doesn't sound/feel wrong/illegal. Fits right in with Sykes and Matza's theory about techniques of neutralization that criminals use to justify their behavior.
Going online and downloading something you didn't pay for is more more analogous to finding a way to steal the physical copy than it is say borrowing a CD from a friend and burning a copy or ripping it to MP3s IMO.
But again, it's just an agree to disagree thing.
I think the move to digital content has been a terrible thing. I'd hate it if I was an author, musician, movie director/producer etc., and the ease of having my property stolen in this era and eating into my profits would keep me from ever wanting to get involved in one of those fields.