"Trespassing", not "Stealing"
|
| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| DrDubious Jul 03, 2010 5:21 PM EDT |
Copyright infringement is an act of usurpation of a "right", not a removal of a valuable good from someone's possession. If I find a hole in the fence at Disneyland and sneak in, I've comitted an obvious wrong, but I've not "stolen Disneyland". I argue that this is very much analogous to making a copy of a copyright-encumbered "for pay" work without rendering payment. If I set up a fake ticket booth in front of a hole in the fence at Disneylan(tm) and give out "free passes" to go in, I would again be committing an obvious legal and moral wrong, but I would still not have "stolen Disneyland". ("File sharing"...) |
| dinotrac Jul 03, 2010 5:38 PM EDT |
DrDubious... And the difference is what, exactly? A right is, in and of itself, a valuable good. The best and clearest example is the right to offer your services to the highest bidder. If you do a job and don't get paid the agreed wage/price, then somebody has stolen your services. |
| chalbersma Jul 03, 2010 11:02 PM EDT |
Stealing is worse than copyright infringement. |
| Bob_Robertson Jul 04, 2010 2:09 PM EDT |
DrD, Trespassing is an interesting perspective, it certainly works in the metaphysical "someone has trespassed against me" way. The original that is copied is not interfered with in any way, so I don't think it works out as a clear analogy. Copyright is a legal extension of contract to individuals who are not party to the contract. For example, if I get a document from Dino under the agreement that I not copy it, give it to Jim over there and Jim makes a copy of it, Jim has violated "copyright" without ever having been party to the original contract between Dino and I. I get a public domain video, digitize it and share it, the person who accepts it from me is just fine. I get a copyrighted video, digitize it and share it, copyright makes it so that the person who accepts it from me has "broken the law". This is one of the fundamental flaws of copyright law, which differs from any other kind of actual contract. |
Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]
Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!