This is just a poll on what you think about downloading copyrighted material without permission from the owner.
I know that advice on how to download copyrighted material is forbidden on this board, so everyone please try to avoid that.
Ambiguous. I think it’s justified, somewhat, in cases where the original is otherwise functionally inaccessible (abandonware, orphan copyright, extremely rare works, things that are out of print and prohibitively expensive, censored or suppressed material, fan translations of unlicensed works in foreign languages), so long as no-one is making any money off of the deal. If it is something that you can buy at Borders, no dice.
I voted for it’s always wrong. Look I dont agree with the law at all, but if you don’t like something then you work to change the law, you don’t break it.
And there’s a difference between breaking a law to put up a show of civil disobedience and another because you don’t want to pay.
That’s BS. If it’s a bad law than it had no business being on the books in the first place.
I think it’s always wrong, but if it’s a work that’s otherwise unavailable (as JR Brown lists) I’d probably do it, given no legal option. But IMO the fact that it’s still illegal makes it still wrong.
The problem with that is that its only the large corporations who get to change the law to suit them.
I think the questions are ambiguous. What exactly is the scenario for copyright infringement? If it’s someone making illegal DVDs of a movie and selling them that’s one thing. If it’s just a person making a copy of something for personal use that’s quite another.
Those questions are ambiguous, but I never asked them. The poll assumes you are going to clearly infringe on someone’s copyright, whatever that may mean to you.
None of the choices really reflect my opinion, which is: “Copyright infringement is wrong, but existing copyright laws are also wrong and need to be reformed.”
then you choose one of the last two options, dependent on whether you still infringe - the second part of your opinion is not relevant to the poll.
Then why offer four different choices of motivations for people who think it isn’t wrong? Why not offer the equivalent options for people who think it’s wrong?
“It’s wrong, but I would do it if there’s no reasonable way to get the product legally.”
“It’s wrong, but I would do it if I feel the copyright owner is charging an unreasonable amount of money.”
“I don’t like giving money to dead artists” isn’t on the list.
I like Youtube because it allows me to hear a new (to me) group’s songs, and if I like them enough I’ll buy an album. What I will not buy is Jimi Hendrix, or Elvis, or Johnny Cash. Same goes for books - I hate buying books written by dead people, and think the “60 years past death” copyright bullshit is…well…bullshit.
So just because someone died, all their possessions are up for grabs? Forget probate and let anyone come along into a dead person’s house or go to their bank accounts and let them take what they want. Forget about the rights of the heirs…
I see your point. I guess I should have included an option that says “It’s always wrong because it is illegal, but I think the law should change.”
Oh well. Just pick the last choice if you fall into this category.
This should fall under the “they charge too much money” option. As you think Johnny Cash songs should be free and yet they cost more than nothing.
Yes, exactly. And I’d damn well better get the proceeds when the children are sold into slavery.
What you don’t seem to get is that many people have different opinions based on how the copyright is being infringed. These people will likely not vote, since none of the answers will be more right than another. Ergo, you are selecting for people who think all copyright infringement is equivalent, tainting your actual results.
I’m sure you could get most people saying it isn’t wrong, if you’d asked the question differently. This is why there are standards in polling that actually matters.
As for me, I chose option 2, because, usually, “copyright infringement” is code for downloading stuff off the Internet that hasn’t explicitly been made free. I’ll download stuff that is no longer being sold, or stuff I could’ve gotten for free elsewhere. I am not stealing when I do this, as I don’t cost the copyright holder anything.
The other time I’ll break copyright is when I’m modifying a song for my own use. I won’t give you the modified version unless you have bought the original or obtained it for free legally.
Oh, and I’m not sure whether it counts when I download non-DRM’d versions of software I have a legal license for. Or violate copyright when the owner has clearly turned a blind eye.