Quote:
Originally Posted by rogue_librarian
You made up some BS claims, but I don't see how that counts as explanation, exactly.
Please stop being condescending.
That might apply to tangible objects (in a lot of cases, anyway), but not to copyrighted works. Calling such copyright violations "theft" is uniformed or, at best, intellectually dishonest. "Theft" always includes the taking away of a physical object in such a way that the original owner no longer has possessions of it. This is, be definition, impossible with virtual goods. You can steal a physical copy of that work, a book, a CD, but not the work itself.
There is no "automatic" here. They only have the rights we as a society give them.
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Some might give it a different name. What is being stolen is not the file per se, it is the exclusive right to create legal copies of that file. Only copies created under fair use are exempt. When you buy a ticket to a concert and then at the door they say "we won't let you in" have you they not "stolen" your right? You might give it a different name, but in the end it is some sort of theft.
Copyright is not a "priviledge" bestowed on authors by society -- it is an automatic right (that is why they call it a right) being given to every author to control every copy of his or her work (again, with fair use exceptions). Just because the technical means exist to easily copy doesn't give people the right to freely copy. Only the author can sign this right away to a third party or just declare the work to be part of public domain.
If I practice and create perfect copies of your signature (or I just scan and paste your signature to the bottom of a document) that is ok if I don't cause you any financial harm -- I might just sign a drive to extend the length of copy rights in your name
? You still have your signature.