This article is part II of the series of articles written on piracy issues. It looks at the various arguments people make to support piracy.
1. Question of funds:
Many universities force their students to buy course kits. These course kits every so often cost over $50. Most of the funds are not going to the authors of the articles being published. One professor republished his work in a course material and got no money for it. He even tried to save his students money by compiling the course kits himself but was reprimanded by the university.
2. Expensive:
Nothing is given out for free. There is always that piece of the cake which is topped with more and more and more icing. For instance take people who buy desktops and laptops. As of now, no Microsoft office products are included in the package. The product must be bought separately. However, it’s nearly impossible to have a computer without a word processor.
3. Intellectual Monopoly:
Many argue that it is an intellectual monopoly. Big companies try to control Isabel Marant Shoes others and their abilities to loan and distribute a product they have bought. Originally the copy was bought legitimately, but it was distributed and given to other to use.
4. Laws are vague:
There is no way to control who gives software to whom. Once someone buys a disk or a product, it is up to them whether they want to share it with others. Where is the limit? Who can you share with? Many argue that the laws are too vague.
5. Free Will:
Hipatia is a group that believes that knowledge should be collectively shared with others. From my understanding, they believe that it would be selfish to keep the information hidden.
6. Author problems:
Lawrence Liang believes that the definition of author is too thin. There is an assumption that the definition is universal, but in fact it is not.
7. Freedom of Information:
Some advocates quote the Bill or Rights and the Charter of Rights & Freedoms as their reasoning. I really thing it is an oxymoron, because it is all subjective.
8. Not theft:
Many argue that it is not theft. Many argue that theft boundaries have not been defined clearly in order to prevent piracy.
9. Other issues not related:
Many people pirate videos and other things like porn for various reasons not related to piracy and copyright infringement. Many are afraid to do that because of being caught-credit cards etc. By outing the people who illegally download and stream porn, society is creating a higher than normal risk of suicide.
10. Laws differ:
Cyberspace is boundless. There is no way to monitor the activity. The law in one country may differ in another. What may be wrong in one country, may be okay in another.