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WHO'S THE THIEF?

It's dusk. A man walks to a locked car. He furtively looks around; coast is clear. He takes a rod, slips it into the car door; within seconds he is into the car. Two minutes later the car starts - he glances around again, he puts the car into gear and quickly drives away - in a car that does not belong to him.

At about the same time, a different man, sitting in a comfortable house, sips a scotch and decides he'd like to listen to some music. Although he makes a comfortable living, he'd generally not pay for things if he doesn't have to. He goes to a site on the Internet and downloads some music. He saves the music to his hard drive, so he can listen to it again later. Neither the group that created the music nor the publishers who paid the musicians ever consented to have the music available from this particular Internet site.

What is the difference between these two men? Both are taking something that doesn't belong to them. Both of them are stealing the labor of others, without compensating the producers. But there is a difference - the man in the first case, while a criminal, has a certain sort of bravery; there is some chance he will be caught and go to jail. The man in the first case realizes he is a thief, while the man who steals the music thinks of himself as a law-abiding citizen. Demographically, there are also some differences. The car thief is more likely to be young and uneducated. The music thief is more likely to be computer literate and formally educated. The second man is more likely to be you.

But ultimately, there is no difference. Both men are thieves.

The people who make the car are not likely to suffer much. It will ultimately be recovered, and, if not, demand will be spurred by the fact that the original driver will have to replace the car that was stolen. But the musicians who spent years developing their talents, and the publishers who took a great risk to market their music, will never recoup the loss they suffer from having their product ripped off. (Did you know that the great majority of intellectual products - books, movies, music videos - lose money?)

Rageback:

Is copying software, or stealing music or other intellectual property, really any different from stealing a car?

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