Gaming [Q] Why do people pirate?

[sarkwalvein]

You're confusing the legal definition of theft with a dictionary one, legally theft is depriving someone of property, that does not take place, the game is still there, it's just illegally copied. You can argue copyright infringement, since you create a copy without consent, but you can't argue theft. Please show me a law that says piracy is theft.

Perhaps you are talking about something like this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowling_v._United_States_(1985)

The Supreme Court conlcuded that:

The phonorecords in question were not "stolen, converted or taken by fraud" for purposes of [section] 2314. The section's language clearly contemplates a physical identity between the items unlawfully obtained and those eventually transported, and hence some prior physical taking of the subject goods. Since the statutorily defined property rights of a copyright holder have a character distinct from the possessory interest of the owner of simple "goods, wares, [or] merchandise," interference with copyright does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud. The infringer of a copyright does not assume physical control over the copyright nor wholly deprive its owner of its use. Infringement implicates a more complex set of property interests than does run-of-the-mill theft, conversion, or fraud.

I am not lawyer, and I hate the law business thinking, but this conversation is interesting for me anyway.

If that is so, even the FBI is playing Goebells here, fuck them.

 

[Gruntzer]

You're confusing the legal definition of theft with a dictionary one, legally theft is depriving someone of property, that does not take place, the game is still there, it's just illegally copied. You can argue copyright infringement, since you create a copy without consent, but you can't argue theft. Please show me a law that says piracy is theft.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/piracy
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Intellectual+Property
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/theft

legal definition of piracy:
The act of violence or depredation on the high seas; also, the theft of Intellectual Property, especially in electronic media.

i really don't want to drag this anymore, if you are still no satisfied then let it be.

Perhaps you are talking about something like this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowling_v._United_States_(1985)

The Supreme Court conlcuded that:


I am not lawyer, and I hate the law business thinking, but this conversation is interesting for me anyway.

If that is so, even the FBI is playing Goebells here, fuck them.

"The vast majority of the tapes Dowling used were not copyrighted and it took the FBI years to find five or six songs that were"
EDIT: this case actually depicts the physical act of bootlegging rather than the more intellectual part

 

[Foxi4]

My only problem with what you're saying is that you speak with conviction about matters you have no idea about. "Theft of intellectual property" and "theft" are two different things altogether, the former being an infringement of an IP holder's exclusive rights, the latter being a crime. It's a shorthand for copyright infringement (among other infringements), not a narrower category of theft. Read up:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement

I quote:

Copyright holders frequently refer to copyright infringement as theft. In copyright law, infringement does not refer to theft of physical objects that take away the owner's possession, but an instance where a person exercises one of the exclusive rights of the copyright holder without authorization.

Same word, two different meanings and two different legal definitions.

 

[DarkFlare69]

I just saw this thread now. But what kind of question is "Why do people pirate?" It's because they don't want to pay for games. They do it because no one ever gets in trouble for piracy, even though it's against the law. The end.

 

[TemplarGR]

Most people pirate because there is almost no risk involved and they get all the games they want for free. It is that simple.

The real truth is that game companies are no saints, and are not playing fair. Asking you for so much money for a single game, BEFORE you having a chance to know if you will like the game or not, is a scam. Legal, but unethical. demos are not representative of the final product in many cases, that is WHEN they are provided at all, and gaming "journalism" is a bad joke. More like the Gaming Industry marketing department....

I understand that without profits there will be no more games, and since i am a programmer myself i like to pay for work i enjoy, but since i don't have a real method of knowing if something is good, i pirate first and purchase later...

 

[lolboy]

Some games I buy without any doubt( Pokemon ) But before buying other titles I like to try them out because not all games have demos.
If i download game and spend more then 3 hours on it, I buy it.

 

[djalmafreestyler]

Because in my country games are expensive. What do you think about buying games for $70 - $100+ (example converted to dollar) each? And now I like the ideia that roms doesn't take space, just some space of my PC and External HD.

 

[piratesephiroth]

why do people poop?

 

[Drak0rex]

why do people poop?

Because everyone is full of shit, no matter how much they want to admit it

 

[Nightwish]

wake up from your hibernation and realize that you live in a capitalist world which is really hard to change
this world isn't tolerant with dreams ,either enforce it or go back to sleeping

you can enforce it by spending a crazy amount of hours and developing a really game on the same caliber as AAA games then releasing it for free !
which you will never do

Please point out to me what's capitalistic in holding a monopoly on something in perpetuity (besides a brand, for obvious reasons).
After you figured that one out, then figure out why this would be a time an where an unjust system of laws can't be fought.

As a bonus question, what's your opinion of an Antiguan pirate?

As to whether piracy is theft, anyone arguing it from a legal stand point is arguing against over 200 years of case law and international treaties, and consequentially is being a very silly person.

 

[dauphin327]

^ Copying Is Not Theft

 

[Mark McDonut]

It's kind of an open-ended question. It all depends what I'm pirating.

 

[MarioFanatic64]

Sorry if it's already been mentioned thus far (too lazy to read 12 pages right now) but seriously to anyone that's condemning piracy, I really want you to put your money where your mouth is and buy ALL of your movies, tv shows and ESPECIALLY music. Seriously who the fuck doesn't pirate their music? I'm not saying such a goodie two shoes doesn't exist, just throwin' it out there.

I'm that guy. Granted when I was younger I pirated some DS games, but I've since done away with my flashcart, and have payed for all my games ever since.

I've never pirated a movie. It's pretty easy not to pirate movies when everything is pretty shit these days. I rarely go to the movies unless it's something I know I'll really enjoy because if it isn't, I know soon enough it'll be on TV for free.

I've never pirated a TV show. It's pretty easy not to pirate TV shows when everything is pretty shit these days. I watch TV shows and if I like them I'll start buying them when they roll out on DVD.

I've never pirated music. It's pretty easy not to pirate music when everything is pretty shit these days. Literally, any music I've downloaded in recent years has been covers of video game music that were distributed for free.

 

[Multiboy2k]

.

Nonsensical topic is nonsense.
*leaves topic*

 

[Issac]

I buy games, I buy music, I buy TV series and I buy movies. I download/pirate too. Why? To try it out most of the time. Sometimes I do it just because I'm a cheap bastard, or because I don't want to wait several years for the TV show to air on TV... or if I miss an episode of something I'm following on TV.

Sometimes I download music because I don't really like it yet. Most recently: Taylor Swift. Some songs of the new album is catchy, but it's really not my thing. But downloading it, listening to it a couple of times (not just those few songs I like) and it might grow on me. Maybe I even decide buying a copy. (Remember, I'm the guy who got 48 music albums for Christmas).

I download a lot of anime. Because it's not officially subbed. Because the DVDs aren't region free and aren't available here. Because there's no Crunchyroll here...

Hell, I think I've got over 10 Wii U games to keep my busy. And I've got 418 games on steam! I can play those until whatever I want becomes cheap, or just buy something if I really want it now. I don't NEED to pirate.

Most of the time I watch movies by renting DVDs. Sometimes I catch an older one on TV, and sometimes I go to the movies for those "must see" movies. Some movies just aren't available any more. You can't buy them, they're out of print. What should a person do who really wants it? If it's something that none of my family wants to watch, I want to watch it, it's hard to come by (renting) and I don't want to own the movie.... well I just download a copy and watch it. If I happen to like it much... I might buy a copy! (John Dies at the End and Scott Pilgrim are two examples when that happened).

 

[AkiraCast]

I'm that guy. Granted when I was younger I pirated some DS games, but I've since done away with my flashcart, and have payed for all my games ever since.

I've never pirated a movie. It's pretty easy not to pirate movies when everything is pretty shit these days. I rarely go to the movies unless it's something I know I'll really enjoy because if it isn't, I know soon enough it'll be on TV for free.

I've never pirated a TV show. It's pretty easy not to pirate TV shows when everything is pretty shit these days. I watch TV shows and if I like them I'll start buying them when they roll out on DVD.

I've never pirated music. It's pretty easy not to pirate music when everything is pretty shit these days. Literally, any music I've downloaded in recent years has been covers of video game music that were distributed for free.

And that's great man, it's totally you're prerogative what you do with your money. If I looked at your collection of any of those things I'd probably be pretty damn jelly.

 

[NyaakoXD]

I come back after two days out of simple curiosity since it was still alive and I see stuff like this. What the hell happened here?

 

[vayanui8]

I come back after two days out of simple curiosity since it was still alive and I see stuff like this. What the hell happened here?

OP's account was deleted

 

[NyaakoXD]

OP's account was deleted

Another reason to ask "What the hell happened?".

 

[Nightwish]

Nothing, a bunch of insults, and some legitimate questions that are never answered by anti-piracy warriors. They might have been banned before, I dunnow.