[Gllug] Piracy.

[Dylan]

On Tuesday 04 March 2003 13:51, Rev Simon Rumble wrote:
> On Tue 04 Mar, Pankaj Mathur bloviated thus:
> > Well it is not exactly stealing as you've amply proved with your example
> > but it is still unethical behaviour. Demonstrating mere misfit with
> > definition of "stealing" does not really justify such actions which can
> > hurt OSS developers as well.
>
> The Coke analogy is actually different in other ways too.  Coke are in
> the business of selling overpriced sugary drinks, which have input
> costs.  These input costs are not impacted if I were to "copy" the
> Coke with my own raw materials.
>
> The key difference here is that software is based on an artificial
> scarcity.  You, theoretically, don't have access to the product unless
> you buy it, but the duplication costs are negligable.  So essentially
> the "crime" being committed only because our society has decided to
> allow a business model to be built on an artificial scarcity.

The crime is theft because under law, copyright IS property, and technically 
it is not the software, picture, movie, whatever which is stolen but the 
right to control copying... hence 'copy-right'.

Dylan

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