Is online piracy really "theft"?

For some reason the games i enjoy the most can't be pirated,these are usually games that are free (like League Of Legends) or that have online play.(Battlefield3)
 
If people make decent articles, be it games/movies/music, people would pay for it.

Look at The Avengers, they broke records and set new records in the history of cinema.

Also the income disparity vs purchasing of goods is way off. In the UK, you can buy a music CD off an hours wage, in SA, you can just buy a loaf of bread.

*edit*

Also, yes I try before I buy, if a game is kak , I will not buy it.

When IC had their specials on for R99, I spent about R500 on games, games that were actually decent and wouldn't mind owning the originals.

I used to have DSTV, but I cancelled it because I could not choose what channels I wanted (Also according to CPA, bundling of bouquets are illegal), and most of the times they had repeats. The shows I wanted to watch only arrived on DSTV like 6 months later. That is kak service.

I pay my TV license, I am entitled to watch what I want, when I want. If we had Hulu or Netflix, things would different.
 
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I think we should have a few more pointless debates on the subject, they are in such short supply on this forum.

Indeed. people always want to argue about whether piracy is right or wrong, when it's clear it's wrong. It's illegal, so that's pretty much the nail in the argument's coffin. Arguing about whether piracy should be considered theft is like arguing whether rape should be considered a form of assault.

What people should be debating is how to stop piracy, because change can't come from the consumers alone, and the industry certainly isn't doing much to alleviate the issue.
 
I used to have DSTV, but I cancelled it because I could not choose what channels I wanted (Also according to CPA, bundling of bouquets are illegal), and most of the times they had repeats. The shows I wanted to watch only arrived on DSTV like 6 months later. That is kak service.
DSTV likes its repeats. That was always one thing that truly pissed me off about DSTV. Not to mention the adverts. I could later recite everything that was said in the adverts.
 
It's illegal, so that's pretty much the nail in the argument's coffin. Arguing about whether piracy should be considered theft is like arguing whether rape should be considered a form of assault.

When was the last time someone got criminally prosecuted for copyright infringement in South Africa? (Piracy is Jack Sparrow sailing on the high seas, this whole debate is about copyright infringement)


Oh that's right.....









NEVER.


So until someone gets criminally prosecuted, I'll continue to sail the high seas of the internet with my jolly roger flag, hijacking other merchant ships and plundering their loot, like Somalian pirates do.

Cus ya kno', that's what piracy is.
 
When was the last time someone got criminally prosecuted for copyright infringement in South Africa? (Piracy is Jack Sparrow sailing on the high seas, this whole debate is about copyright infringement)

Oh that's right.....
NEVER.

So until someone gets criminally prosecuted, I'll continue to sail the high seas of the internet with my jolly roger flag, hijacking other merchant ships and plundering their loot, like Somalian pirates do.

Cus ya kno', that's what piracy is.

So the only reason you continue is because you won't get caught.....I sense a problem with your moral compass ;)
 
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If people make decent articles, be it games/movies/music, people would pay for it.

Look at The Avengers, they broke records and set new records in the history of cinema.

Also the income disparity vs purchasing of goods is way off. In the UK, you can buy a music CD off an hours wage, in SA, you can just buy a loaf of bread.

It all depends on the hourly wage.
 
When was the last time someone got criminally prosecuted for copyright infringement in South Africa? (Piracy is Jack Sparrow sailing on the high seas, this whole debate is about copyright infringement)


Oh that's right.....

NEVER.

Yeah, I'm sorry, but that doesn't make it less illegal. There's nothing I can do to stop you, but just because something is hard to get caught for, it doesn't affect the legality of it.

You can drive 80 in a 60 zone without being caught, but that doesn't mean it's not a crime.

So until someone gets criminally prosecuted, I'll continue to sail the high seas of the internet with my jolly roger flag, hijacking other merchant ships and plundering their loot, like Somalian pirates do.

Cus ya kno', that's what piracy is.

You know, I'm surprised people still go on about this 'ip infringement isn't piracy SUMAlions are pirates' shit. Piracy is a slang term for copyright infringement. It's a legitimate and widely accepted use of the word piracy. Bringing it up in every piracy discussion doesn't make your argument look better. It just makes you look like a retard.
 
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Also the income disparity vs purchasing of goods is way off. In the UK, you can buy a music CD off an hours wage, in SA, you can just buy a loaf of bread.

Very true. In Korea the minimum hourly wage is like R32 rand a hour. You work 5 hours a day for a week for 5 and can make R800/per week. Here you work full time at Pick n Pay/steers/Mcdonald etc. and you get R3000 salary. :P
 
When was the last time someone got criminally prosecuted for copyright infringement in South Africa? (Piracy is Jack Sparrow sailing on the high seas, this whole debate is about copyright infringement)


Oh that's right.....









NEVER.


So until someone gets criminally prosecuted, I'll continue to sail the high seas of the internet with my jolly roger flag, hijacking other merchant ships and plundering their loot, like Somalian pirates do.

Cus ya kno', that's what piracy is.


But your not in South Africa....

Also:

R4 cartridges, better known in Japan as Majicon, are a major thorn in Nintendo's side. The importing and sale of these devices that allow people to play pirated DS games was ruled as illegal in Japan since 2008. Generally, Nintendo has opted for filing civil complaints or civil lawsuits against violators, but at last, it looks like the gloves have come off.

On May 30th, police arrested a 39 year old self-employed man in the Saitama prefecture. The man was charged with selling 3 R4 cartridges over the internet between February 14th and March 9th for a total of ¥7,200 (US$91.27). This marks the first such arrest of a R4 cartridge dealer in Japan, and hopefully will be a successful blow against the game piracy market for Nintendo.


Overall, there were 83 piracy-related arrests in Japan in 2011, nearly double the 45 arrests from 2010. While the majority of cases have been illegal video upload related, recent rulings and actions have shown that Japan is upping the ante and cracking down on all forms of piracy.


I'm guessing there won't be many retailers putting up Nintendo-provoking banners any more...

Source Kotaku
 
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