downloading music

[Omegachi]

is downloading music from the internet illegally a form of theft? or is it copyright infringment? I had a Business Law midterm today, and that question was on the test.... I put theft...

 

[amdskip]

I would have put theft.

 

[DaWhim]

latter...copyright infringment

 

[Sophia]

I'd vote copyright infringement

 

[Tetsuo]

Originally posted by: Sophia
I'd vote copyright infringement

 

[her209]

copyright infringement

here's why:

when you steal something, it physically is take from someone else. when you download, you are making a copy of the music file but it doesn't remove it from the owners hard drive. its like if you borrowed a friend's cd and make a copy of the cd.

 

[Omegachi]

why tho? i thought copyright infringment is taking the music/writing, or something intangible and altering it and claim it as your own. taking music off of the net and listening to is, isn't that stealing from the artist or the record company? k, for example, if you take a book, thats stealing, same thing with music, its tangible. But if you take the book, and alter the content and call it your own, that should be copyright infringment right?

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I would have put theft.

If it were theft, the government could prosecute people in criminal court for breaking the law. Instead, we have the RIAA initiating civil proceedings, seeking monetary damages. Copyright infringement does NOT equal theft.