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, I partially agree and disagree with what you wrote.
But you know what they say "Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, but they think each others stink"....he he he.
But as I wrote in one of my posts above, "We can argue the legalities or moralities all day long, but sorry to say piracy is a fact of life."
What is deemed as "Piracy" (the copying and sharing of content..."Avast, me hearties!") is basically illegal (everywhere) and would also be deemed "morally" wrong ("societal beliefs") as it is considered thieft, as you have not paid for something so by definition you have stollen it. But J walking is illegal also, so there you go!
So yeah it's basically a crime, and
some would say wrong. Usually those who stand to lose profit!
Paying for something means you own
one copy only, for your own personal use, not further distribution.
But for me it all get's very "grey" very very quickly!
If I copy and distrubute something I don't own the rights to,
for a financial profit, then yeah thats a crime, that's down right theft and I should be penalised. It's like robbing a place and selling the goods on!
But if I share something,
for no real personal gain, then yeah by law it's still technically a crime and it may hurt the "overall" profits of the owner etc, but should I be threatened and pursued like a common criminal, sometimes even much more harshly than far worse crimes?
Also what's "Piracy" and what's not?
Direct downloading and sharing aside, if I make a compilation USB etc (a "Mix Tape") of MP3's for myself or someone or play music (DJ etc) at a party, function or even in a store (back ground music) where any profit is being made etc or I use my PVR (Personal Video Recorder) to copy a TV show, movie, sport to watch and share with someone else, or make a ring tone for my phone from any form / part of a sound file, or use music, vision or images on my videos, Youtube etc clip, or use an image as wallpaper on any device screen, or scan or photocopy something etc etc etc with out permission of the owner / distributer.....they are all "technically" the breaching of copy right, and possible forms of "piracy" when it comes to the sharing side of things.
By making a "copy of content without the express consent of the owner" you can be breaching intellectual property and copy right / piracy laws. Laws do differ for what, how and where you do it, and country to country though obviously. And in most cases no ones going to botehr to chase most breaches, it's not worth it in legal fee's etc. That said build a shit load more jails as you'll need the room if you want to chase everyone who may be guilty..... and don't drop the soap...he he!
Also if individuals are guilty of piracy then what about those who make the PVR's (Sony, LG etc) you can buy legally in any retail store, copying software some of which comes with the purchase of IT / media devices (PC's, TV's, phones etc), or through multinational software companies (Microsoft, Adobe etc)...etc etc etc.
Everything said and done, whatever side of the argument your on, it's total naivety to think piracy is going to go away, just because it's deemed wrong by some, the "genie if well and truley out of the bottle".
I disagree, that just because content is not "physical" (a hard copy book, CD, DVD etc) that it is not as valuable or hard to produce and distribute. Any form of online media still needs resouces expended on it, both creative and physical. It's not just "a couple of mouse clicks". Intellect, artistry, knowledge etc are valuable commodeties. Someone still has to draw the art, whether they use a pencil and paper or draw via a pad to a screen. Artists need to make a living. Then the actual distributors need a "shop front" which is your website, domain name/s, server space, network bandwidth and other IT...etc etc etc. Dependant on the size of your business, maybe staff (tech, admin etc), maybe office space...etc etc. Then there are lawyers (half of Dofantasy's budget...he he), possibly accountants etc etc etc ($$$$$).
Dofantasy etc have a right to try to "make a crust", no argument there. It's what they charge (over charge!) for the content and some of there "business principals", that are "on the nose" and thus pushing those who want the content to look else where. Not just ourselves but the artists also should be pissed at Dofantasy, for how they represent (misrepresent!) them, and thus push there possible customers to other means of finding the content they like!
Hey just my two cents worth.