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It doesn't matter how many times I read it, I will come to the same conclusion.

Do you need insurance against piracy like you do theft? No.
Will me randomly downloading something right now cause the price to go up next year to accommodate that "loss"? No.

People seem to think that me saying piracy is not theft is the same as saying piracy is an acceptable social practice. That has never been the point I've been arguing. Too many peoples minds are dominated by their emotional response that the logical side can't be heard.


Piracy is theft. That's not my emotions saying that, that's a fact. Software is property. That's all there is to it. You're looking at the effect of you pirating software rather than the act of pirating itself.
 
You are depriving the copyright owner of their rights...

Ok? Depriving someone of their rights isn't stealing. It's IP infringement, apartheid, segregation, Jim Crow, whatever you want to call it. Rights cannot be stolen.

...and devaluing their product.

Plenty of studies on the music and software industries have shown that piracy is good for business, for reasons already pointed out earlier in the thread (more exposure, trial period, etc.).
 
At least they didn't assume that each pirated download was a lost sale like the entertainment industry is so fond of doing.

However, as someone about to start their own app business, I must admit that I couldn't care less about any of this. Piracy isn't always a bad thing, after all there are studies showing that music "pirates" are also those who buy the most.

I'd also like to point out that this data assumes that people who pirate apps didn't later buy them, which - as I just mentioned - is unlikely the case.
 
The difference is only semantic. You stole my rights, not my physical property. Before you pirated, I had the right to not let you have a copy, and you stole that right from me.

What entitled that right of yours? Tell me why I should respect it. Give me an argument defending intellectual property.

And it's a distinction without a difference. Piracy is no different than you taking my car for a joyride and bringing it back - I still have the car, but I've been violated. It's also no different than you breaking naked into my house and playing with my PS3. I still have my house and my stuff, but you have violated my rights and stolen my freedom to exclude you from touching my stuff.

I just love that. I violated your right to exclude me by not recognizing the "right" you just made up. There is no universal human right to intellectual property. Sorry to break it to ya. And since we live on the internet, and I can copy your stuff from an entirely different country, there is no reason why I should respect the laws from your country if I deem them dubious, as I do your intellectual property rights. So before you can claim I have violated you, you must provide an argument that would make me recognize your right to exclude me from your intellectual property. That's the beauty of the internet, it allows you to reject the laws you deem bogus.
 
Ok? Depriving someone of their rights isn't stealing.

I didn't claim that it was. You claimed that "Unless you're reselling the app you haven't deprived the copyright owner of anything other than this phantom revenue..." I was just pointing out that you were wrong in this statement.
 
Actually ....

I'd be very willing to reverse my position, if someone was able to provide me with a convincing argument to do it.

That's a big reason I bother debating these issues in the first place. I've actually come full-circle over the years on something I thought I was firmly decided on; Capital Punishment. (I was firmly "pro", until I was presented with an argument I couldn't refute. Now I'm "pro" in theory, but against in the current political setting.)

Unfortunately, so far, most of the "anti piracy" arguments I see are the same, tired old points that always get brought out - complete with claims that it's the same as "stealing" or common theft, or some claim that it's about protecting one's "freedoms". (Sorry, but someone physically entering my home without permission and using my stuff might not mean he/she stole anything of mine, but it in NO way equates to obtaining a copy of some commercial software without paying the licensing fee. I'd agree that I was "violated" by them entering and using my property without permission, but we already cover that act under "trespassing" laws, so totally different issue....)

There *are* laws against copyright infringement, as it currently stands. My argument is that they're unjust and corrupt laws. The DMCA is *terrible* legislation, and was passed only after big content providing industries paid off legislators to push it through.


These piracy debates are even more entertaining than the Mac/Windows arguments.

Everyone on both sides is so stubborn, yet to vocal. I'd love just one for someone to reverse their position based on something someone else says.

Rape, sodomy, car theft, politics - you'd think we're in the PRSI forum!
 
What entitled that right of yours? Tell me why I should respect it. Give me an argument defending intellectual property.

The Congress of the United States when it passed Title 17 of the United States Code.

As a federal district court judge once told me: "when they tell me I don't have jurisdiction over them, I just smile and throw 'em in jail."
 
Psystar are making money off Apple (or were) but no one who bought a system from them was going to buy one from Apple anyway so its all alright?
 
Unless you're reselling the app you haven't deprived the copyright owner of anything other than this phantom revenue the anti-pirating establishment wants to believe would exist if pirating was somehow eliminated altogether.

Also, intellectual property law vs. common criminal burglary are two totally different things, which seems to be the source of most (edit: all?) of the misunderstanding here.

Common law burglary is breaking into the dwelling house of another at night with the intention of committing a felony. I don't think that's the term you wanted to use.
 
I didn't claim that it was. You claimed that "Unless you're reselling the app you haven't deprived the copyright owner of anything other than this phantom revenue..." I was just pointing out that you were wrong in this statement.

Oh...right. Good catch.

Psystar are making money off Apple (or were) but no one who bought a system from them was going to buy one from Apple anyway so its all alright?

This is a case where a company's revenue stream was tied directly to a copyright violation, so it's not the same as app piracy.
 
The Congress of the United States when it passed Title 17 of the United States Code.

As a federal district court judge once told me: "when they tell me I don't have jurisdiction over them, I just smile and throw 'em in jail."

Nice but the problem is the guy in China doesn't fall under your jurisdiction. So if he copies your intellectual property and then passes it on to me free of charge, I haven't done anything to you. Let's see you throw the Chinaman in jail.

It's also funny you avoid providing an argument to defend your claim and just presume the rightfulness of your laws. How arrogant.
 
I am surprised that so many people did not know about pirated apps. It can be a big problem for developers who have apps with push notification since a server is required to make that feature work. The more users I have the greater my costs. If those users did not pay for the app it hurts me.

It's twice as bad for me since my server also monitors the weather for my users, legitimate and pirated. Windowcast and TopDown

I understand the argument that pirates would not have bought the app to begin with but in my case each pirated copy of my app it taking money away from me. Instead of being a "lost" sale it eats into my proceeds.
Isn't there any way to deny service to pirated copies?

Yes if you can detect that it is cracked. The latest methods of cracking make it harder to detect. It's a moving target.
 
It doesn't matter how many times I read it, I will come to the same conclusion.

Do you need insurance against piracy like you do theft? No.
Will me randomly downloading something right now cause the price to go up next year to accommodate that "loss"? No.

People seem to think that me saying piracy is not theft is the same as saying piracy is an acceptable social practice. That has never been the point I've been arguing. Too many peoples minds are dominated by their emotional response that the logical side can't be heard.

You don't need insurance against theft either.
You pirating? No. Everyone pirating? Yes. As profit margins fall, the choices to a company are either produce a crappier product, stop producing it, or charge the handful of people who actually pay for it more for the product.

I agree with your latter point, but I'm coming from the same place. Oddly I'm one of the few people here who actually deal with piracy on a professional level, and I'm pretty ambivalent towards it, I'm solely arguing within the logic people are putting forward. There have been so many posts that I'm not sure that the thread I'm following with you is the same one that we're actually both typing, so I apologize of the point is getting diluted, but what I'm saying is that there is an economical impact to piracy. And piracy IS theft of intellectual property; legal definitions aside, it's as simple as that, and it is certainly different than stealing a physical product, just as shoplifting and armed robbery are different...
 
OMG SEE! SEE!

JAILBREAKING DOES AFFECT APPLE!


...


450 million ain't chump change people. I have nothing against people who jailbreak, but don't pirate apps. (Like me asking will do anything.)
 
Nice but the problem is the guy is China doesn't fall under your jurisdiction. So if he copies your intellectual property and then passes it on to me free of charge, I haven't done anything to you. Let's see you throw the Chinaman in jail.


When you USE the (illegally copied) software you receive, you are making a copy and/or derivative work in violation of 17 USC. (By copying into the computer memory). Since you are not legally entitled to the copy, the safe harbor provision of 17 USC 107 does not apply.
 
Sheesh!

Honestly, if devs spent a little more time and thought of some innovative ways to prevent piracy I'm sure they could do it. Unfortunately they're focused more on getting the app to the marketplace ASAP before someone else takes their idea. It's sort of a self-defeating cycle.

Honestly, I'd prefer that developers spent more time making innovative apps and didn't have to worry about coming up with "innovative ways to prevent piracy". I understand the realities of the situation, but the statement is a bit ridiculous.

Perhaps I should spend more time coming up with innovative ways to keep hackers/spammers out of my website/blog/email/etc instead of spending that time on coming up with new and innovative content?
 
I'd also like to point out that this data assumes that people who pirate apps didn't later buy them, which - as I just mentioned - is unlikely the case.

Again, this is EXACTLY why I'm not gung-ho on prosecuting digital piracy. And why I'm not a member of the RIAA, nor is my company.
 
re: Psystar

Oh geez... are we *really* going here?
Again, very different situation!

Psystar was *making a profit* selling systems with Apple's operating system pre-installed on them, without getting legal permission from Apple to do so. The real "sticking point" here is that customers were essentially lied to by Psystar. The company presented itself as legally able to provide the end-user with an OS X compatible machine running OS X, when that wasn't the case at all.

I have NO problem with someone building their own "hackintosh" machine, buying a copy of OS X for themselves, and proceeding to hack around to make it all work. In that scenario, everyone wins, really. Apple made money selling another copy of OS X to someone. PC hardware manufacturers made some money selling another motherboard, CPU, RAM, power supply, case and hard drive. The user paid for every single item he/she used, so no "theft" involved. AND, there was no "middle man company" involved, falsely promising the solution had some sort of legal "support" as part of the deal.

Things get very different when you try to sell products you're not legally entitled to sell, vs. sharing a copy of one without profiting financially at all from said sharing.


Psystar are making money off Apple (or were) but no one who bought a system from them was going to buy one from Apple anyway so its all alright?
 
The Congress of the United States when it passed Title 17 of the United States Code.

As a federal district court judge once told me: "when they tell me I don't have jurisdiction over them, I just smile and throw 'em in jail."

My friend's dad was a superior court judge in souther California. He used to make similar comments, which always cracked me up AFTER a few drinks (before those drinks I would argue philosophy with him, which entertained my friend immensely).
 
It most certainly is illegal. In the U.S. it is a violation of the DMCA to circumvent copy protections, and a violation of 17 USC to make copies and derivative works without permission from the copyright holder. In Europe there are similar laws.
And? Slavery was once legal. Copyright terms were once sane (before Mickey Mouse bought himself some Senators).

Legal != right, and illegal != wrong

Also, let's not forget the purpose of copyright: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts"
 
A developer makes an application and LEGALLY offers the application at a cost to the consumer. If the consumer feels they want or need the application enough, they purchase the application.

You, the stealer, decide that you want or need the application as well, but does not want to pay the COST of the application, because 99 cents is way over your budget. SO instead, you pirate a copy of the application you wanted or needed.

The application has a cost but you didn't pay the cost to get the application. I don't care if it's a cloned snickers bar or an iFart application, but it is offered to the regular consumer at a PRICE. Legally, to get this product, you have to pay the PRICE. If you get it without paying the price that you are asked to, then you are stealing. Period.

Piracy is WRONG. I don't care if you call it stealing or copyright infringement or whatever, it is plain WRONG.

I think most people here are trying to get through that it's not "Not wrong." but rather not the same as stealing.

I live in europe, in europe content made available to be downloaded is always legal regardless of the state the software is in. Does this mean european law permits stealing? No, when you buy the app it is YOUR property and you can give the app to who ever you want right? I mean if you buy a CD you can give it to a friend right? the person wouldn't have paid anything for it but he still gets the product. The only difference here is that software can be replicated indefinitely, software having this advantage doesn't make it any less of legal use though.
 
Exactly. People download things from the App Store when the price of it is lower than or equal to what they are willing to pay.

Clearly.

If someone downloads a pirated copy of Madden instead of paying the 99 cents, that just means they weren't willing to pay 99 cents, not that they stole 99 cents from EA.

They may or may not have been willing to pay 99 cents. It's quite possible that they were willing to pay 99 cents but simply preferred to pay nothing.

Regardless of whether they were willing to pay 99 cents or not, however, they have stolen (i.e. taken without permission something that they have no legal right to take) something from EA with a market value of 99 cents.

If someone breaks into your house and takes something without permission, do you really think the fact that they wouldn't have been willing to pay market value for it means that they didn't steal from you?
 
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