Downloading of movies or books a sin?

[CarolusRex]

I have a long history of internet downloading of copyrighted material. I stopped however (which was very hard because I like watching movies that are very hard to get legally in my country) because other Catholics convinced me that it was sinful. Not because you steal a copy, but because you do not give the owner anything in return and you take what is not rightfully yours.

I am an academic however (student at least) and it is really hard to write papers and do research if I can never download books or articles. Of course it is completely fine to download open-source material (such as Gutenberg). Someone told me that this is somewhat of a grey area and the downloading of books for the pursuit of knowledge is justified.

What are your thoughts? I cannot find official Church documents on this issue.

 

[pohandes]

Yes if they have copy right and you don’t have permission from the owner.

 

[wkj_123]

your best bet to avoid any issues is to follow copyright law.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

If you are a student, most likely your library subscribes to various ebook and ejournal packages. Check with your librarian to find out what you have access to as part of the academic community.