Thou Shall Not Steal

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The Ten Commandments tells us not to Steal. I was wondering if Software and Music piracy is a sin? Is reproduction of intellectual property really stealing?
 
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Micky:
The Ten Commandments tells us not to Steal. I was wondering if Software and Music piracy is a sin? Is reproduction of intellectual property really stealing?
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by the very nature of your phrase ‘piracy’ I would think you could connect the dots…

If it ain’t yours…

Story
 
You are stealing income from those who created the music CD or computer software. If you created this great computer program, put in countless hours and sweat into getting it “just right” and then only one person bought it and shared it with hundreds of others, would you feel like someone had stolen from you?
 
Intellectual property theft is just another form of shoplifting (using technology rather than trying to get merchandise out of a physical store w/o paying).
 
Get the music video. It’s a promotional material.

I don’t like music videos actually, cause they suck. But what can you do?
 
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Micky:
The Ten Commandments tells us not to Steal. I was wondering if Software and Music piracy is a sin? Is reproduction of intellectual property really stealing?
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Having worked in the software industry for several years, I can say that it is theft. It’s not fair to me, or the countless hardworking people who work writing, testing, and marketing software to not recieve a fair compensation. I myself LOVE video games, and there’s quite a few I would easily be able to pirate. But I resist because I know I wouldn’t want people to steal my software, why should I do it to someone else?

edit

Now, copying music/software that YOU have purchased for backup purposes is perfectly legal. Just to clarify.
 
Yes–it is theft…imagine if you spent a long time writing a book or a song…and instead of buying it hundreds of people just downloaded it without paying for it…
 
What then should those of us who have downloaded music and video do? Delete it I take it and then do what…or is that it?
 
Tyler Smedley:
What then should those of us who have downloaded music and video do? Delete it I take it and then do what…or is that it?
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Delete them all (excluding the one you have bought the CD, Promotional video clips etc etc)

I have deleted my collections. It hurt so much. My collection was rare.
 
Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Is buying pirated electronic product (e.g. software, music, film and the like)–for personal, non-commercial use–a venial or mortal sin?

Is copying from a legit, original electronic product–for personal, non-commercial–use a venial or mortal sin? (For example, someone has a legit, original software, which is explicitly intended to be installed in a single PC only, and I borrowed it and installed another copy in my PC.) What if I copied from a pirated electronic product instead–still for personal, non-commercial use?

Shalom, amen.
 
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Micky:
The Ten Commandments tells us not to Steal. I was wondering if Software and Music piracy is a sin? Is reproduction of intellectual property really stealing?
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If you spent sleepless months developing a computer program and someone else sells it and grows rich out of it, without your knowledge and consent, that is stealing. Its like cooking food for yourself, and someone else secretly creeps into your kitchen and eats all of it.

Gerry 🙂
 
I almost wish I had never stumbled upon this thread. I have amassed a huge mp3 collection over the past seven years, and the thought of erasing it is … unthinkable.

I cannot believe what a dilema I am facing. I know what is right, and I know what I need to do, and I cannot freaking believe that I am unable to bring myself to delete these songs.

I know it’s a sin, and I have spent so much time and effort stopping other vices and sins, that the thought that this is presenting a brick wall for me is maddening! I think about the countless hours of enjoyment I’ve received from my collection, and to just delete it…?

Oh, man…only in America in the 21st century would this cause such turmoil…

Sorry to have vented. Please excuse me. 🙂
 
Well…I did it. More than 1900 mp3s and a good 20 or so movies that I had on my hard drive have been deleted.

It feels…good, and I actually think I’m not going to miss them. Knowing that I’m living a better life through Christ makes it so much easier.

Peace and God bless! 🙂

Eric
 
I am right with you, my collection of 5 years I deleted last night, all of it, so weird now that I only have what I accually bought…but it is good that its gone. I am going to hit confession on thursday and get my soul cleared up as well.
 
Tyler Smedley:
I am right with you, my collection of 5 years I deleted last night, all of it, so weird now that I only have what I accually bought…but it is good that its gone. I am going to hit confession on thursday and get my soul cleared up as well.
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Amen, brother, amen. I am right behind you! 🙂
 
Brothers and sisters in Christ:

I like to read your views about this paragraph from the article “RIAA collects fines, doesn’t pay artists” by Egan Orion for the “the Inquirer” in September 20 2003:

"The notion of copyright infringement as theft was clearly addressed in the 1985 Supreme Court decision of Dowling v. United States. While this case involved hard goods (phonograph records), Justice Harry Blackmun was most certainly speaking of abstract property (copyrights) when he wrote these words in his majority decision overturning Dowling’s conviction of interstate transport of stolen property: '(copyright infringement) does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud… The infringer invades a statutorily defined province guaranteed to the copyright holder alone. But he does not assume physical control over copyright; nor does he wholly deprive its owner of its use.’"

I’d like to read about your views of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, and how this court decision affects it.

Shalom, amen.
 
A few years ago, I would download a song every now and then from Napster. I felt kinda funny about it, and finally realized that was my conscience, telling me that it was wrong. I went to confession and stopped the downloading. But I still wanted the songs—you know, a new one comes on the radio that you really like, but you don’t have the $$ to buy a whole CD for one song. I kept looking for a way to buy just one song online; always found the clubs where you have to pay fees every month.

Well finally I have found my solution. I have Music Match on my computer (yes, I did pay for the software!) and they now have many songs that you can legally download for 99¢ each. Woohoo! I can feel great listening to them!
 
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preyoflove:
I like to read your views about this paragraph from the article “RIAA collects fines, doesn’t pay artists” by Egan Orion for the “the Inquirer” in September 20 2003:

“The notion of copyright infringement as theft was clearly addressed in the 1985 Supreme Court decision of Dowling v. United States. While this case involved hard goods (phonograph records), Justice Harry Blackmun was most certainly speaking of abstract property (copyrights) when he wrote these words in his majority decision overturning Dowling’s conviction of interstate transport of stolen property: ‘(copyright infringement) does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud… The infringer invades a statutorily defined province guaranteed to the copyright holder alone. But he does not assume physical control over copyright; nor does he wholly deprive its owner of its use.’”

I’d like to read about your views of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, and how this court decision affects it.
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I imagine that one could debate the legalistic nature of downloading music and movies and never really come to an agreement. One could equate downloading music to listening to the radio, and the other could respond by saying the record label allows songs to be played on the radio to promote the music so that album sales increase, and if I download the song and can listen to it whenever I want, there’s no incentive for me to support the artist or the industry that generates the music.

But, luckily, we have God’s law and a conscience (hopefully) formed by the church. For years, I didn’t listen to my conscience because I know what it would say if I did–that listening to music I didn’t pay for was wrong. I’d rather live in my sin then have a conversion of heart.

All I had to do was apply the two greatest commandments, love God and love one another, and I would have realized that by obtaining enjoyment from a product that I didn’t pay for, I wasn’t truly loving my neighbor (in this case, the artist that produced the music, as well as the countless other people who would be affected by my lack of payment).

Peace and God bless! 🙂

Eric
 
To “ennanneman” Eric:

Well, did you consider it venial or mortal?

Shalom, amen.
 
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