Comment by jenny on an ABC News (Australia) article in response to a person claiming they pirate material online:
It is not pirating, it is THEFT!! People who steal from others probably don’t have any ethics, oh wait, you don’t even bother to view it, its just a protest, rubbish!!
Sorry to burst your bubble jenny [sic], but media piracy is not theft, it is copyright infringement. Let me put this in a bigger font to emphasise it:
copyright infringement.
It’s amazing how many people (and media companies) think they’re the same thing. Those silly ads that say "you wouldn’t steal a car…" that are sometimes played at the beginning of movies and DVDs don’t help either.
copyright infringement.
They’re business model is failing, and this is the best they can come up with? Collusion and intentionally misleading the public? Making examples of single mothers by suing them into oblivion? I would say what a load of bull but that’s an insult to bovine creatures.
they’re trying the ‘if so and so told you to stick your head in the fire, would you?’ tactic.
I disagree with the strongarm tactics that organizations such as the RIAA have employed and agree that they do have to come up with a new business model now that they aren’t the sole controllers of the means of distribution.
But I also have to agree that any sort of piracy is tantamount to theft. If you really want a work but decide to pirate it rather than spend money then that’s money out of the pockets of everyone who put their work into creating it. Courts have drawn a distinction because there’s no physical object being taken, but that seems like so much splitting of hairs in a world where the courts haven’t quite caught on to the digital world.
I know I certainly feel like a theft has taken place when I find another site has stolen something I wrote and is using it as their own. I’m certain the feeling is the same for musicians et. al.
Thanks for the comment Andrew, I appreciate it. I agree with you insofar as saying if someone takes something I created during it’s current copyright term and doesn’t attribute it to me I feel as though it’s stealing even though they haven’t taken anything physical of mine. Under the law though (at least in countries we live in that abide by the Berne Convention), copyright infringement and stealing are two entirely separate crimes, and when the RIAA in the US or ARIA in Australia claim it’s stealing they’re being misleading and disingenuous.
For want of a better comparison, it’s akin to saying manslaughter and murder are the same crime because the results are the same. To the people affected they sure would feel the same, but that’s not to say the law sees them the same way.
I think a more interesting thing to take from this is whether or not we need to change the laws themselves to reflect the digital age which you aptly speak of. I reckon we’re both in agreement in this.
Errr…
“I know I certainly feel like a theft has taken place when I find another site has stolen something I wrote and is using it as their own. I’m certain the feeling is the same for musicians et. al.”
This is a very bad comparison. Music fans generally don’t claim that the music they download was MADE by them.
As for this statement:
“If you really want a work but decide to pirate it rather than spend money then that’s money out of the pockets of everyone who put their work into creating it.”
When people REALLY want a work, you’ll find a lot of people are very willing to pay money for it – either buy it digital, physical, go to the concert or get some merchandise. If, for some reason, they don’t pay, at least they’ll TALK about the music they love so much and maybe they generate a few fans who are more likely to spend money. It’s a numbers game.
I think a lot of the stuff out there that’s downloaded isn’t even something the person REALLY wants. Just something people think is alright.