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Piracy And Objectivism

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Cbaoth

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Hi Guys,

As with a lot of people on here finding Ayn Rand has been an eye opening and I guess life changing experience for me. It has led me to a bit of dilemma though, doing IT at uni and now working in the IT industry, software, movies, music have always been on tap, more or less a non issue in the industry I guess, the latest games always seem to find there way to our office. What is the objectivist take on this, to me it would seem that this is a violation of intellectual property and reduces the person to the level of a looter? This makes me really want to stop this activity now and get out of that lifestyle. Any perspectives on this would be helpful.

Thanks,

David

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Hi Guys,

As with a lot of people on here finding Ayn Rand has been an eye opening and I guess life changing experience for me. It has led me to a bit of dilemma though, doing IT at uni and now working in the IT industry, software, movies, music have always been on tap, more or less a non issue in the industry I guess, the latest games always seem to find there way to our office. What is the objectivist take on this, to me it would seem that this is a violation of intellectual property and reduces the person to the level of a looter? This makes me really want to stop this activity now and get out of that lifestyle. Any perspectives on this would be helpful.

Thanks,

David

First I would have to know what you mean by "more or less a non issue," because I think it means you are using software, etc., without the owners' permission, which is a crime. Can you clarify for us?

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What is the objectivist take on this, to me it would seem that this is a violation of intellectual property and reduces the person to the level of a looter?

You are correct; it is a form of theft and thus immoral and illegal. There are several threads in here about this issue, and you can also read Ayn Rand's essay "Patents and Copyrights" in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.

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The joy of ownership is a psychological pleasure no looter can experience.

It will also give you a new appreciation for art, software, and the likes - since you will now have to decide if you care to pay for it. I found that certain things, like music or MS Office, are worth a lot more than they cost. While others, like computer games - have to be exceptionally well done to be worth the investment.

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Thanks for the reply's

roscov6: By more or less a non issue, I mean no-one so much as raises an eyebrow if copies of the latest games etc are distributed around the office, I guess in some groups it is viewed the same as taping something off tv and making copies.

erandror: I know exactly what you mean about the joy of ownership, without a doubt the games, music, software that I use the most are the purchased ones. I think piracy produces a hollow pleasure that wears off soon.

jedymastyr: You got it in 1 :lol: Started using the nick a long time ago, maybe 7 years or so.

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It's stealing. I would say: don't do it.

P.S. I still know a lot of people who steal music online. This seems so weird to me, since you can get the songs for as low as 39 cents. Are these people really driven to crime for wont of 39 cents?

No, but would you pay 39 cents for a song called "Pimp Juice" (real song BTW)?

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No, but would you pay 39 cents for a song called "Pimp Juice" (real song BTW)?

There's an Information Society album where the last track is a recording of a 300 baud modem relaying an encoded text story. When I was flipping through online music sites, I checked with a couple, and this was actually one of the more popular tracks purchased. Either there are some dedicated geeks out there, or some folks are in for a rude surprise when that pops up on the iPod.

I wish I could recall one or two of the albums which had an all-silence track to "hide" the last song. It would be amusing to see how many people accidentally purchased a blank mp3.

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