On: Copying Is Not Theft [video]

[beej71]

Counterpoint: greed has made Disney and others push copyright terms to damaging extremes that we all pay for. It's unethical to give them money.

[robertlagrant → beej71]

That's not a counterpoint. It's not unethical to voluntarily pay for a luxury good. It's just a choice.

[beej71 → robertlagrant]

I didn't say it was unethical to voluntarily pay for a luxury good. I said it was unethical to pay Disney.

[robertlagrant → beej71]

This just seems like an excuse. It's okay to steal from the people you've decided are evil? Should I start stealing VWs because of the emissions scandal?

[beej71 → robertlagrant]

I'm not talking about stealing anything. But if you find VW to be an evil company and you want a Golf, you should absolutely build your own copy a Golf and not give VW a cent.

[robertlagrant → beej71]

Fair enough - in the same vein, it's not magically okay for you to consume Disney products just because you don't like Disney. Put on your own play.

[beej71 → robertlagrant]

But now we're just talking the ease of making a copy, which I don't think is part of the law.

[robertlagrant → beej71]

I agree that ease of making a copy isn't relevant. If a company spend $50m on making a movie, and it's totally legal to make free copies (or charge $5 a copy), companies will stop making movies. This seems self-evidently bad; can you explain why it's not?