[LINK] In other news....

[Craig Sanders]

On Mon, Jun 25, 2007 at 04:44:28PM +1000, Stilgherrian wrote:
> On 25/6/07 4:24 PM, "Craig Sanders" <cas at taz.net.au> wrote:
> 
> > On Mon, Jun 25, 2007 at 03:51:41PM +1000, Stilgherrian wrote:
> >> If you make a copy of someone's copyrighted material without
> >> paying, you're depriving them of whatever profit they would have
> >> made had you acquired that copy according to the license they want
> >> you to follow.
> >
> > equally, if you don't ever buy their copyrighted work (whether you
> > copy/use it or not), you are depriving them of the income they would
> > have had if you had bought it.
> >
> > therefore, failure to consume is theft and should be punished by
> > lengthy gaol sentences.
> >
> > furthermore, there should be no distinction by the courts between
> > wilful failure to consume and incidental or ignorant failure.
>
> Nice try. But that's complete sophistry. Or trolling.

actually, it's the bogus assumption that there would have been a sale which is
self-serving sophistry.

> Let's be concrete. "You can have a copy of my book to read if you pay me
> $29". You say, "No, I'll just copy it and read it and not give you $29".

no, i'll borrow it from a friend/the library.   theft?

no, i'll read it in the bookshop.  theft?

no, i'll try buy before i buy by downloading it - if it's any good, i'll buy
it.  theft?

no, i'll wait for it to appear on the chuck-out tables for $5.  theft of $24?


> Whatever you want to call it, it's not nice behaviour.

what's even LESS nice behaviour is the corporate welfare behind the magical
transformation of a CIVIL matter (copyright infringement) into a CRIMINAL
matter.

that's not merely "not nice behaviour", that's criminal corruption.

copyright infringement is NOT "theft", it is NOT "piracy" (murder,
looting, etc on the seas). it is copyright infringement.


> You can jump up and down and say the book "should" be free for
> everyone to read

that's not what i'm saying at all. i'm saying that it's wrong to presume
that any use is, or would/should have been, automatically a sale.


craig

-- 
craig sanders <cas at taz.net.au>

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