On Saturday 04 December 2004 12:37 pm, Michael Garfias wrote:
>  From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
>
>    Stealing \Steal"ing\, n.
>       1. The act of taking feloniously the personal property of
>          another without his consent and knowledge; theft; larceny.
>
> In what way am I depriving someone of an MP3 when I download it from
> them?  They still have it, they can still listen to it.    Its not
> stealing.  It is something else entirely.

Yes, it is infringement.  It is forcefully removing control of what happens to 
the creative work from the person that created it.  Because that control is 
usually exerted to obtain financial compensation, some will incorrectly call 
it stealing.

> Basically what it comes down to is that people (artists, software
> companies, movie studios, whatever) are  going to have to learn a new
> way to make a buck.

If you mean they will have to learn a new distribution model with a different 
pricing method and perhaps a smaller profit margin I think you are correct.  
If you mean that copyright is irrelevant or not to be respected, you are 
incorrect.

Without copyright the GPL, for example, would not exist and have no 
enforcement power.  Even the BSD style licenses would not have the power to 
require attribution to the original author.  I hope you are not stating that 
copyrights should be completely disregarded.

> If we listened to people with your thought process, we'd still be
> listening to the old paper tape piano things (whatever they were
> called).

Wrong.  Respecting copyright does not mean that innovation and new formats are 
prevented.  It encourages it by allowing the creator control over what 
happens to the work.

> People will find a new way to make their money.

Art (music, performances, writing, software, inventions, etc.) are the mark of 
an enhanced culture and society.  Copyright is a way of encouraging these 
creative works because it encourages the society to apply resources toward 
them.

I agree that current copyright law (copyright valid for 90 years after the 
creator's death) and current practices (sell a CD full of mostly junk music 
for triple or quadruple profit margins) are out of whack.  But the benefits 
of copyright, as envisioned by the writers of the US Constitution, are still 
valid today.  For this reason, copyrights should continue to be respected.

Alan
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