Downloading programs

[Against_Heresy]

Hey, is downloading a program, and cracking it or patching it, a sin?

 

[khuldar]

Hey, is downloading a program, and cracking it or patching it, a sin?

That depends… Is it a program that you should pay for? or that other people have paid for? If you’ve downloaded it and not bought it then I guess that’s a simple answer… Theft is theft whether it’s pyhisical or digital.

 

[Elizium23]

Digital theft cannot be equated with material theft, because the latter always deprives the owner of the property. Piracy and the like are new concepts in the age of copyright.

It is sinful to break just laws and contracts. If you violate copyright law, or an End-User License Agreement, or similar legal restrictions in your activity with the software, then yes, you need to stop.

 

[PaddyMac]

I can’t say that I agree with each and every intellectual property law which exists, but we should obey just laws. If by downloading commercial software and using it with no intent to pay for it, thus depriving the author of legitimate compensation, this is theft. However, let’s say you have legitimately purchased a program, but for some legitimate reason you’ve become unable to use your software. Perhaps you’ve lost your registration code, and you just happen to have the technical skills necessary to crack the program in order to use it. I personally don’t see anything wrong with that because you are a legitimate owner of the software. It would be like breaking into your own house because you lost your key. However, I don’t think this is the scenario you’re speaking of. If your conscience is bothering you about it, then don’t do it so you can have a clear conscience. Money cannot buy that, and the price of the software is likely small when you consider this. Besides, because of all the free, open-source software available, it’s likely that there is a free program that does the same thing as the commercial software you desire, and you can have a clean conscience to boot.