| kn said: Are you familiar with the term "intellectual property"? It doesn't matter in the eyes of the law whether a ferrari or a line of code. You are stealing. Period. There is no other way to define it. Unless the IP owner grants you specific permission to use their property free (and it is property) you have stolen it regardless of whether or not you would have bought it otherwise. There is no other way to define it unless you implicitly condone piracy. |
I Am, but clearly you are not. IP "theft" is a civil offence, unlike actual theft which is a criminal offence. Take a look at the court cases with the RIAA and the MPAA, and the recent developments in Germany for a European perspective.
It all depends if you agree with the concepts of copyright and owning ideas. IP, copyrighted material and patents have limited lifespan for a reason and then you enter into the quagmire of derived works.
Simply put: Copying games, artwork, music or car designs is not, will never be, stealing. It is intellectual or copyright infringement.
Do not buy into big businesses constant inaccurate reinforcement that this is theft. Furthermore do not attempt to draw a line in the sand and say either you agree with me or you are siding with "teh terrorists", nothing in this world is either or.
edit: Added a comma for clarity.
