Software Piracy isn't Theft

StormHydra - Sanctuary

To start of with, let us define theft. The commonly accepted definition is “the taking of someone else’s property without their consent”. The two keywords that need to be looked at here are “taking” and “consent”. I am going to demonstrate in various different ways why software piracy does not come into the same category as theft. My first argument is with the word “take”.

First of all, the word “taken,” as it was originally used, was meant to imply that what you take is no longer there with the owner. In fact, the root of the word piracy itself betrays what it is supposed to mean. Pirates stormed ships forcibly, looted the occupants (not to mention murdered and God knows what else), and took away things that left the original owners without them.

This clearly doesn’t apply to piracy of music CD’s and software. If I download a song from a server, then the original copy is intact and nothing has been lost. To put a different spin on it, if I light a candle, and you (without my consent) light another candle from my flame and run away, can I charge you with having stolen my light? Is that piracy? I don’t think so.

Of course, all software companies and music companies have the right to make it as difficult as possible for people to copy and run their software. Which brings me to my second point as to why I don’t consider piracy as theft.
Piracy

I quite understand the meaning of the term opportunity cost. The primary gripe with piracy is that it causes lost sales. This assumption is dubious at best or remarkably overstated. For this argument to ring true, the assumption must be made that if a user illegaly downloads a song, he or she would have purchased it. If the user never intended to purchase the song, then downloading the song illegally has not caused any sort of lost sales.

In fact, this is much more often true than not. The overwhelming majority of people who illegally download software would never have bought it if they were unable to get if for free. So this argument falls flat.

My final argument is an extension of my earlier article on how to charge different prices for your products. Companies usually adopt pricing policies that confer an additional benefit to those who pay high prices. For example, business class passengers in airplanes have shorter lines. Conversely, they make it difficult for customers who are price sensitive and want to save money to ensure that only those who are willing to make some sort of a sacrifice can get the lower priced products. The example is that of discount coupons which force customers to go through all the hassle of cutting out and saving useless bits of paper in order to get a discount.

Piracy can be looked at in this light. It is never easy to download something illegally. You have to find a source, try and crack it, are in constant fear that updates will change something and render the software useless, etc. This is the reason why people pay money for software. They do it to avoid hassles. The very fact that people choose to buy software instead of trying to get it for free demonstrates this. The end result is this: People who would never have bought the software anyway are the ones who usually try and download music and software illegally. The others buy it to avoid the hassles of using non-genuine software.

The fact that people are still buying music and paying for software illustrates this principle. They pay for software even though they can get it for free. As long as companies make it as difficult as possible for their software to be copied illegally (it doesn’t have to be impossible), they will not lose sales since those to whom the software is worth the price will purchase it.

A lot of people of course, have different points of view on this, and they are most welcome to share with our readers why they feel that piracy is theft or provide further reasons as to why it is not.

Taken from http://www.citizeneconomists.com/blogs/2008/10/24/why-software-piracy-isnt-theft/
Discuss.
Yes sometimes I torrent things. Sometimes I look at it in the "Use flame from other candle to make my candle burn" way.
Some people say things like "yeah, but even though I can get it for free, I like to buy CDs because I want to support the artist because I like their music"
I guess, but 99% of the money goes to the record company the drives the prices sky-high for you in the first place.
Yeah its kinda immoral but its logical. (75% of statistics are made up on the spot). Lol ok, its probably not 99% but its defenitely a large majority.
I reckon the biggest argument-worthy thing about this is the bit about "torrenters wouldn't buy it anyway if it wasn't available for free"
It really depends on how much you want the thing, which is kinda hard to argue about...
No defaming/flaming posts. Its just a discussion. If you flame people won't care, it won't change peoples' opinions.
And it doesnt make a good impression on "the good guys" if "the good guys" flame "the bad guys"

THIS IS A DISCUSSION AND A PLACE TO SHARE OPINIONS. Theres a difference between opinions and flames.

AinaMizuako - Sanctuary

I only torrent anime mostly. I hate downloading/watching individual episodes so it's very handy to be able to download the whole series/season.

As for software.. only Photoshop.

Tearvalerin - Sanctuary

that logic about pirates is fail, modern lexicon evolves as people in society adapt its use, such as an obnoxious term i hate from wow "proc" orspecial procedure, which first was used as a certain condition being fufilled, triggering an event. example, you step on a certain tile in a dungeon and it says, "somehow the eerie chill of this dungeon makes you feel as youre being watched!" a triggered text might say to add some dramatic effect. now it means a chance for a special effect on a weapon to occur, such as gloom or berzerk.

pirates are thieves at sea, they take money and other valuables which dont belong to them for wealth or pleasure, a highwayman, a brigand, no matter the label, they all do the same thing.

you take from the internet, a song or movie which does not belong to you, you take hard working people such as make up artists, sound board operators, camera men, etc who are often obscured behind the limelight of over rated celebrities who helped make a song or movie a success.

you are a thief,

i am a thief,

anyone who takes free things from the internet which are sold on a market are criminals.

StormHydra - Sanctuary

you take from the internet, a song or movie which does not belong to you, you take hard working people such as make up artists, sound board operators, camera men, etc who are often obscured behind the limelight of over rated celebrities who helped make a song or movie a success.

Yeah i know what you mean there, but they still have the movie or CD or whatever. Actually stealing it would be like stealing the rights for the CD, and all the money goes to you and you have the copywrite and everything.
I guess you might mean "stealing their money", because to get the CD you would usually give them money. But through piracy you get the CD without giving their money. So they lose sales. Which brings me to that thing where "torrenters wouldn't pay money for it if they couldn't get it for free". So they cant really lose the money if they wouldnt have gotten it in the first place.

Its all lost in the laws of copywriting and rights of companies and people.