Piracy is Theft or Not?

Piracy is Theft or Not? Azak Yaarkurt Section 73 May 21, 2011

Piracy is Theft or Not? Piracy is Theft or Not?

We are living in age in which information is easily shared and accessible. But there is a big problem that most of us ignore; information is not the only thing that is shared. Movies, music, video games, ideas and books are shared without their creators permission. These products are not free; owning these products without paying money for them, makes it stealing. Thus piracy which is theft of intellectual property is a crime and should be fought against. Some people do not consider piracy as theft since the original product remains as it is. These people support their idea saying that when you steal a car, the original is lost but when you copy a digital disc, the original remains as it is. This idea may seem true at first, true the original product remains as it is, but it is irrelevant since the income is stolen from the seller. An example for this is going to a movie theatre without buying a ticket. In this case you are not stealing a copy of the movie, but you are stealing money that could have been earned if you had bought a ticket. (No, Silly, Piracy is Theft, 2008, par. 4) Likewise, plagiarism which is using someone elses intellectual property without giving reference is similar to piracy and is considered as theft. The people who do not consider piracy as theft complain that the original products are too expensive. They say that not everyone can afford to buy original products and internet allows them to access pirated products fast and for free. This point of view is flawed because; price of a product cannot be an excuse for committing a crime. First, consider a boy who wants to own an expensive car, to own this car he would either have to buy it or steal it. If he steals it, the price of the product would not save him from going to jail. In addition, piracy is one of the main factors that increase the prices of the original products. According to a research by Khouja and Rajagopalan, existence of piracy in the industry may cause monopolists to charge higher prices. (2009, p. ) Piracy decreases the number of products sold

Piracy is Theft or Not? therefore companies increase the prices of their products to optimize their profits. Secondly, it is true that internet allows people to access pirated products fast and for free. Sadly it still does not change the fact that piracy is a crime. On the other hand internet also creates an opportunity for producers to sell their products cheaper and let the consumers to own the products faster via downloading officially. Some people seem to believe that piracy creates job opportunities for unemployed people such as release groups, peer to peer networking site owners and pirated product

market. This is true to some extend and is highly debatable in terms of moral values. Dealing drugs also creates job opportunities for unemployed people but it is does not change the fact that selling or buying those products is a crime. For people who do not care about the moral values and illegality, McLaughlin states that According to the IPI's latest intellectual property rights study, unique of its kind, in the absence of piracy 373,375 new jobs would have been added to the U.S. economy. (2007, par. 1) Clearly, this result shows that piracy destroys job opportunities for unemployed people more than it creates. Today, online piracy has become a big black market; pirates do not only steal the income from the seller, but also create undeserved income for themselves. It is the same thing as selling something you steal. Websites containing pirated content earn money from advertisements which visitors are forced to click to access the pirated content. For example, Sisario indicates that Megaupload, one of the most popular file hosting websites on the Internet, which allowed users to download pirated content such as movies and music, has been accused of causing $500 million damages and gaining $175 million by selling ads and premium memberships. (2012, par. 3) These file hosting websites also make money from premium membership like the example above. By limiting download access to free members and keeping them waiting, these websites aim to direct users to premium membership.

Piracy is Theft or Not? To conclude, people should learn that piracy is theft and see the disadvantages of piracy are greater than its advantages. People should try not to use pirated products and contribute to the original product market for a better world economy.

Piracy is Theft or Not? References Khouja, M., & Rajagopalan, H. K. (2009). Can piracy lead to higher prices in the music and motion picture industries? Retrieved April 7, 2011, from http://www.palgravejournals.com/jors/journal/v60/n3/full/2602552a.html

McLaughlin, B. (2007, October 5). Intellectual Property Piracy Costing America Jobs, Billions in Lost Income. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/404946/intellectual_property_piracy_costing.html

No, Silly, Piracy is Theft. (2008, August 28) Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://www.devtopics.com/no-silly-piracy-is-theft/