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Also in these transitive definitions, stealing is about taking. And in the case of piracy (communicating information to others without permission of the origina
by stcg 3y ago
Also in these transitive definitions, stealing is about taking. And in the case of piracy (communicating information to others without permission of the original source), nothing is taken.
The person that came up with the idea still has it. The photographer still has the picture. The programmer still has the program.
It's just about what another person may do with it, the one receiving the picture. May they also send it to someone else? We could have different ideas about that, but calling it "stealing" is inaccurate.
- photonerd 3y agoTaking can simply mean “to gain or acquire”. So, once again, incorrect. Sorry. I’m sympathetic to the moral argument you’re making—though when the raw goods are digital too I think it’s an impractical & ill conceived one—but both legally AND linguistically… it’s incorrect
- stcg 3y agoLet's say Alice took a photograph and sends a copy of it to Bob. Are you then saying that when Bob sends another copy to Charlie, Bob is taking something? What is Bob taking?
- photonerd 3y agoCharlie certainly was (he took a copy from Bob). Bob is the distributor in this context however. In most Berne convention states he broke copyright law (technically, but nothing would happen) Together Bob & Charlie gained or acquired a picture produced by Alice’s work effort that was unauthorized. That’s stealing. Is it a big deal? Probably not. Still stealing.
- Nursie 3y agoAlice still has it, so it’s not stealing as commonly understood. I’d say the opposite - it could still be a huge deal to Alice, but it doesn’t meet the definition of stealing or theft.
- jdright 3y agoas you said, he broke copyright law. that is copyright infringement, it is not theft.
- kthejoker2 3y agoSo close and then the stealing part slipped back in. We have a separate term already for the right to copy something - copyright. We have a term for copying something without that right- copyright infringement. Not theft. Copyright infringement.
- autoexec 3y agoWhich dictionary defines taking as simply gaining or acquiring something? If you "take" something from someone else it generally means that they no longer have what you took. This is all really pretty simple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTybKL1pM4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTybKL1pM4 Also, (at least in the US) legally copyright infringement is distinct from stealing.
- ben_w 3y agoHot take, take a photo, take part, take the bus, take a left, take a shower, take pride in your work, take a joke, take something apart, take my word for it, take a while, take an oath. Being over precious about definitions is unwise. Also, from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take Verb, 1, To get into one's hands, possession, or control, with or without force.
- jasonjayr 3y agoThis use of 'take' is an endless source of dad jokes, of course. Child: "I'm going to go take a shower" Dad: "Make sure you put it back when you're done."
- worthless-trash 3y agoA new legend, was born.
- bcrosby95 3y agoIs taking a picture of someone kidnapping?
- ben_w 3y agoCurious choice of example. I know what you mean of course, but the point is words shift meaning. For a counter-example connected to your choice, I was recently made aware of the Latin word for "to abduct", and how that word may well be why it took so long for spousal abuse to become recognised as an offence — to paraphrase your own question to demonstrate how this goes very wrong, how can you "abduct" someone you live with?
- 28304283409234 3y agoSay one counterfeits a hundred dollar bill perfectly. Does he steal? Say he is able to do this in large quantities. Does he steal? You still have you hundred dollar bill. No loss to you right? Wrong. Your money’s worth is lessened by the counterfeiting, the copying. That is what they mean by stealing: you are decreasing the value of their products by providing identical copies outside of their control.
- maweki 3y agoBy that definition, whenever I create (on my own) a product that is both superior and cheaper than a competitor's offering, lessening the value of their product, it is stealing.
- growse 3y agoThere are actually people who reason like this. I remember being struck by this attitude when reading Bloomberg's book - effectively morally eqivocating business competition with stealing food out of their children's mouths.
- Sakos 3y agoUnfortunately, businesses actually think this way. See any number of lawsuits based on this kind of thinking.
- 28304283409234 3y agoThis is exactly what people are saying about any number of innovations!
- idle_zealot 3y agoYou're right that counterfeiting devalues currency, but that doesn't make it stealing. Nobody would refer to counterfeit currency as "stolen".
- 28304283409234 3y agoAlrighty. So copying movies is fraud. Not theft or piracy.
- lesostep 3y ago>> And in the case of piracy (communicating information to others without permission of the original source), nothing is taken. I'd like to add, that revoking a license is about taking someone access away. Only one side is taking something and it's not the pirates.