Paul amazes me sometimes. It amazes me that someone can actually call downloading music “copying” and not any form of stealing (he refers to it as “copyright infringement).

Well, Paul, you’re right. Technically, what you’re doing is “copyright infringement”, but that doesn’t make it “legal”. According to dictionary.com copyright is “The legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work.” Infringement is “A violation, as of a law, regulation, or agreement; a breach.” By definition steal means “To take (the property of another) without right or permission.” And, to round it out, a thief is defined as “One who steals, especially by stealth.”

Do you have permission to have a copy of that file? No? Thought so – you’re technically a thief. Just because what you stole was not tangible doesn’t mean you are not “liable” (Legally obligated; responsible).

His defense that they aren’t “thiefs” but rather “pirates” is a total joke. Again dictionary.com; a pirate is defined as “One who robs.” A pirate is just another name for a thief. And the person who sells unauthorized copies of movies are thiefs too.

Do I think that fair use is severly limited by the DMCA? Yes, of course! But I also think that virtuosos like David Allan Coe have a right to charge for their intellectual property. The reality is that downloading music that you don’t have a right to own is stealing. Pirating and stealing are the same thing with different names. Again, if Paul would take a few seconds to think about it from his perspective (charging for code) he’d come to the same conclusion.

I think the dilema has moral considerations too. No one in this country thinks about anyone else anymore. It’s all about money, oil, free songs, and ourselves. What I find so amazingly ironic is that we hate the record labels because they steal from the muscians. If you “copy” music that you don’t own so are you!