Quote:
Originally Posted by Redrob
Unauthorized dilution of property rights is stealing.
Fuck the pirates and put them in jail.
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Exactly right. The copying of the product leaves the creator of it without the income that would have been derived from its sale. So what's been stolen is money, a tangible and real asset. Stealing money is even worse in the eyes of society, where shoplifting is a petty crime, but taking money from the cash box is a felony.
Digital copies for sale represent goods for cash. Take the digital copy without paying, and the owner may still be able to make more copies. But he cannot recover the specific money that was due in exchange for the lost copy. If I am selling a car, and the car is stolen before I find a buyer, what I've been deprived of was the income I would have gotten from that car. The actual item for sale is immaterial.
It's not true that all pirates wouldn't have purchased anyway. If something is desirable enough to be taken, there are those who would pay for it.