Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

That’s not a good argument because what if you stole something from a store ALL the way in the back covered in dust that literally no one even knew about. Would you say that’s not theft because it’s not a loss of value?


Your analogy falls down because the act of taking a physical good deprives the current owner of that good without recompense. That is the definition of stealing.

Software and digital content piracy does not deprive any other owner of anything else, this is isn't stealing in the legal sense. It may be financial harm or copyright abuse but those are both separate crimes from theft.

Piracy isn't legal, but it isn't theft either.


If you could do piracy to my car, but my car would still be in my garage, I would be perfectly happy with it.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: