SOPA

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by Professor S

For clarity's sake, what if Jane broke into a record store and stole hundreds of dollars of CDs. Should Jane go to jail then, or just be fined?

(This isn't directed at you, I was just quoting you.)

So then, legally, anyone who has ever taken a picture of a picture/painting/sculpture is stealing art. Anyone who edits a short version of Star Trek to make some type of comical Jean-Luc Picard video is stealing intellectual property and should be fined/put in jail because that video belongs to (whoever the fuck owns Star Trek).



The reason I find it so hard to stick to one side is that the line is soooo fine. On one hand, I think "Fuck you, you put it on the internet. The internet should be free domain. If you don't want people stealing your shit, don't put them online. I don't leave the keys in my car, or my door wide-open."

I try to defend the other side by thinking "Well I'd probably be a dick about not getting my money, too", but then I just come back to my own "well, I put it on the internet. The internet should be free domain etc etc".

See, if someone is taking physical copies of my CD (or movie), putting those tracks/film onto a computer to give to other people for free - I could see an issue being taken up with that. But if you're putting your own product online, I think you almost immediately waive all right to bitch. if I put my own file online, I shouldn't be allowed to say "hey wait, stop!".

To go back to my "I wouldn't leave my door open" thing. Even though if someone walks into my open house and steals my things - that's definitely their fault. But I was the dumbass who left my door unlocked, and didn't check to see who was walking out with what.

I also think there's a fine line in the term "stealing". I don't download music, but I don't consider it "stealing". Nothing is being lost. technically.

Digitial files do not exist. They are not real things. You put a digital song (easiest example) on a server for paid download. 5 people pay, 3 people dont. Sure, you lost out on the money from those 3 people - but you still have your song. You didn't press any records and pay to put them into a store, and then have those stolen. You technically haven't lost anything.

It's like if you have a printer in your store, and copies are 50 cents. If someone walks in with their own paper and ink, prints something then walks out without paying, what did you really lose.

Edit: To be fair I'll probably be on the other side by next week.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Look Piracy is here to stay.

IT WILL NEVER STOP.

The moment the CD was invented and the ability to rip the files off said CD was there, we have been doing it. The Moment someone realized they could send these files to others was the moment the music industry should have tried to go with the fucking flow instead of jacking up the price of CDs and blaming piracy.

No, i'm not saying piracy is ok. However it has been around for centuries and it will always be here. There is absolutely nothing that can stop it. Before the internet was big people would rip and burn CDs from friends, before that they would record on cassette tapes. VCRs, DVDRs etc. For fuck's sake people used to hand copy books.

Also whoever brought up larceny into this... WTF? Larceny refers to tangible objects. I've never been able to physically touch an MP3 or any other type of computer file.

That's why there are copyright laws that came into place after some motherfuckers with a VCR realized they could make a copy of a tv show on a tape that cost 5 bucks. Before Satellite and Cable TV used to always be free. Broadcast Television was all there was and it's what everyone watched. Before the invention of devices that could play music, people didn't buy it, they listened to it on the radio. A Radio DJ decided what you listened to and who got big.

$$$$$

That's what all this about. Always.

Someday I hope people wake the fuck up and realize that society is ripping them the fuck off.

Thankfully there are protests and reasons to fucking care, and that's the only part of the American Dream that's worth something.