2 ms·

You have a good argument about why copyright violation is wrong, but you didn't respond to GP's arguments about why it is not theft.

• michaelmrose 6y ago
  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theft https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theft Definition of theft 1a : the act of stealing specifically : the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it Much like violating copyright isn't similar in nature to commandeering ships on the high seas its not much similar to the taking of real property in that the owner isn't deprived of anything and in fact is wholly unaffected and absent from the transaction. Actual property is the necessary resolution of the inherently rivalrous nature of property while Copyright is mandate that I limit what data I transmit to another party so as to avoid transmitting any patterns of bits that could reasonably be argued to be owned by any entity on the premise that this limitation will create an intangible good that can serve as an incentive to encourage creators to trade in it. If congress contrary to the rest of our interests grants you sole ownership of the color red I wont be a thief if I opt to paint my house that color. Really this is a tired subject having been debated endlessly since the 70s. Anyone still using it is apt to have staked out their position and decided they care more about the emotional import of the word thief than reasoned argument.