Recent content by theplanetmars

Oh, I'd say we're fully in agreement on all that. If I buy a DVD, and I want to transfer it on to my iPod, that's fair usage. I already paid. The entertainment industry has gotten comfortable with the idea of repackaging the same entertainment and selling to us again and again. If I've already...

Advice taken on posting guidelines. Much thanks. I should go and read the guidelines. I always forget to do that. Anyway, I generally stick to discussing this topic within the confines of the US legal system because it's just too difficult for me to keep track of the myriad laws in all...

The problem is that morality is subjective. I suspect that between the two of us, I might be the one to find file sharing less objectionable morally. As to the casual (non legal) definition, it's equally subjective. Eight people in a room might conclude that it means eight different things...

Yes I do. I quoted the exact aspect of your statement that I took issue with. I do not agree with the assessment that those who pirate are pathetic and I gave no endorsement to that argument anywhere. I'm sorry your friends and family find this simple dialog difficult to follow. It's very...

In other words: You don't have an actual argument so you resort to petty insults. I don't agree with alot of laws. But that doesn't actually change the law. Theft is a legal term that is governed by specific rules. Therefore what does and does not constitute theft is determined in a court of...

Please take note that I already clarified that my observation was limited to the US. As for the legal system not being in charge of the language, that's just absurd. The legal system is in charge of interpreting the legal definitions of words and applying them as they see fit. If this...

I don't think you're actually addressing my argument. A Justice of The Supreme Court clearly stated that copying files is synonymous with theft. Two Attorney Generals have made it clear that the acquisition of intangible media is stealing and that violators will be punished accordingly. This...

A Justice of the Supreme Court disagrees. Justice Stephen G. Breyer: "deliberate unlawful copying is no less an unlawful taking of property than garden-variety theft."

I've never understood why people who champion emerging technologies (in general, not here specifically) adhere to archaic definitions established before said technology.

How is it not theft? Intangible media has long been held by courts (at least in the US) as a form of property. Furthermore, a Justice of the Supreme Court made it clear in 2005 that the copying of intangible media equals the unlawful taking of property, which as your own definition shows, is...