Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 31st Aug 2010 22:09 UTC
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RE[2]: But... it does make you wonder...
by phoenix on Fri 3rd Sep 2010 21:42
in reply to "RE: But... it does make you wonder..."
"As a parent, I have taught my daughter that downloading copyrighted material that she does not have the rights to obtain or own is wrong. But somehow, I do not think you'll see a single article on OSnews even suggesting that it is wrong.... perhaps the "rapidly growing segment" has already grown to consume OSnews as well??
Out of interest, if your daughter did download copyrighted material from the Internet (and assuming copyright law to be just) how much harm do you think she would actually cause to copyright holders? "
Even more interesting, would you punish her the same for downloading 10 songs off the Internet, as you would for stealing a CD from Wal-mart?




Member since:
2006-02-16
Why do we NOT see articles on OSnews and others about how many people do NOT see a problem with the copying and (notably) distributing of copyrighted works?
I mean... would we even have to discuss the differences between theft and copyright if people were doing the right thing with regards to copyright holders?
I don't think anyone has a moral right to make a living by restricting the liberty of others.
Didn't work very well for Socrates. I think sometimes we need to exercise our democratic rights to change unjust laws.
The Internet makes is easy... and unfortunately, it has made many of us into abusers.
The situation has changed considerably since copyright law was first introduced. Initially, copyright only applied to books, and printing books required the time-consuming process of setting up a printing press. Thus, copyright law only restricted commercial public distribution. Nowadays the restriction on copying has become a restriction on personal liberty.
How many of these people steal? (I mean actually steal.) Much fewer? Perhaps it is because they can tell the difference between something that is inherently immoral, and something that is a societal convention?
Sometimes we LOSE our freedoms universally due to the irresponsible behavior of a few. This is sad. But again, what I used to see as a "few" is a rapidly growing segment (from my unscientific surveys).
It is sad when people's liberty is lost, and I think we ought to have good reasons whenever we do this.
Out of interest, if your daughter did download copyrighted material from the Internet (and assuming copyright law to be just) how much harm do you think she would actually cause to copyright holders?