> I personally don't believe the idea that pirates are thieves. I believe
> bootleggers are thieves, because they profit from someone else's work.
> Pirates, on the other hand, don't make any money from what they do.
Depends upon your definition of theft. If you are looking at it from the
thief's point of view, then stealing something regardless of value, then
giving it away would tend to make one think it's not stealing. From the
person's point of view who owned the object, it doesn't matter if it had
value or not, it's still gone. From an intellectual property point of view,
it doesn't matter if it is resold or not, the act deprives the owner of
revenue.
> While its probably true that companies could increase their
> profits if there
> were less piracy, to say that pirates steal their money is like saying my
> broker stole my money because he gave me bad advice to buy a particular
> stock-- i.e. I could've increased my profits if my broker isn't there.
> That's just counting your chickens before they hatch. E.g. you didn't
> let me buy that lottery ticket, therefore you just stole 2 million dollars
> from me because if I had bought that ticket, I would've won 2 million
> dollars. This is what corporations who want to fatten their wallets want
> you to believe, but the idea is unsound and illogical.
>
1. If it's probably true that companies could increase their profits if
there were less piracy, then it would be true that pirates cost these
companies money. If these companies are selling intellectual property and
they are missing revenue due to them because of piracy, then it is also safe
to say that this act can be considered theft.
2. Your broker did not steal your money. You paid for your broker's advice,
good or bad. That is the agreement that your both entered. If you somehow
took advice from your broker, good or bad, and didn't pay, then this would
also be theft. If you didn't wish to pay for bad as well as good advice,
then this should be considered when entering into the arrangement.
--Alan
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