Law professor says file sharing not theft...

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dmg
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Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#1 Post by dmg »

I have always held that to steal means to take something away from someone, thus depriving them of it. I found this article which appears to agree with me. I thought some others here might find it interesting:
http://news.yahoo.com/illegal-file-shar ... 05160.html

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joby_toss
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Re: Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#2 Post by joby_toss »

Nice read!
I "stole" so much poems when I was in school! We had to learn them by heart and then recite'em, otherwise we get F's. And many F's were bad...so bad...like 200,000$ are now for a downloaded mp3! :)

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Midas
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Re: Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#3 Post by Midas »

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. 8)

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webfork
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Re: Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#4 Post by webfork »

The reaction to intellectual property "theft" has soured my view of its enforcement. At this stage, my immediate reaction to meeting someone who works for the RIAA or MPAA is very negative. If I meet someone who's been sued by one of these organizations, is as if they were a minor hero. Yet I want great digital artists to do more than just scrape by: simply because something has easy and unlimited distribution doesn't mean they don't deserve compensation. However, by demanding thousands of dollars in compensation from people who are at best curious and at worst lazy, its created a great sense of unfairness that I've never been able to describe.

One paragraph from the article did that neatly:
Illegal downloading is, of course, a real problem. People who work hard to produce creative works are entitled to enjoy legal protection to reap the benefits of their labors. And if others want to enjoy those creative works, it’s reasonable to make them pay for the privilege. But framing illegal downloading as a form of stealing doesn’t, and probably never will, work. We would do better to consider a range of legal concepts that fit the problem more appropriately: concepts like unauthorized use, trespass, conversion and misappropriation.

Hydaral
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Re: Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#5 Post by Hydaral »

Law professor says file sharing not theft
Well, that's because it isn't.

I never understood why more people don't understand the distinction between larceny and copyright infringement. Are they stupid or just ignorant?

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dmg
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Re: Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#6 Post by dmg »

I never understood why more people don't understand the distinction between larceny and copyright infringement. Are they stupid or just ignorant?
We denizens of 'modern civilization' don't realize the influence mass media can have on our perceptions. The Powers That Be have expended tremendous effort trying to convince us that copyright infringement is a horrifying offense against humanity. They have mostly failed, much to their annoyance, but elements of their propaganda have become permanently lodged in our psyches. Now a large portion of the population thinks of copyright infringement in terms of theft because that is how it has been presented to them for the last 30 years, and most people just don't know how to stop and objectively analyze their own perceptions.

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Midas
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Re: Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#7 Post by Midas »

dmg wrote:The Powers That Be have expended tremendous effort trying to convince us that copyright infringement is a horrifying offense against humanity. They have mostly failed, much to their annoyance, but elements of their propaganda have become permanently lodged in our psyches. Now a large portion of the population thinks of copyright infringement in terms of theft because that is how it has been presented to them for the last 30 years, and most people just don't know how to stop and objectively analyze their own perceptions.
Precisely. While they pollute the common psyche with such exacerbated non-sense, at the same time they would have us believe that it is perfectly alright to bomb faraway countries just because they don't bow to said Powers. How much more irrational can it get? :evil:

Hydaral
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Re: Law professor says file sharing not theft...

#8 Post by Hydaral »

Is this what it will come to?

The IT Crowd piracy warning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuxO6CZptck


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