Infringement – Not Stealing Copyright controllers distort the meaning of the words “stealing” and “theft” for their own purposes. Naughton (2003) contends that the use of such language “would make an excellent Orwellian case study.” “Stealing” and “theft” have emotive value because they are considered to be evil acts by most people. They are proscribed activities in the Judaeo-Christian Ten Commandments, and in the sacred books of other religions. The copyright controllers use these words to strengthen their case for extending the meaning of copyright. According to the Oxford English dictionary, however, “to steal” is defined as: “To take away dishonestly (portable property, cattle, etc., belonging to another) (Oxford University Press, 1989). As copying takes nothing away from anyone (the owners still possess their copy) and as intellectual content is not property, then copying content is not stealing. In the U.S., this interpretation was strengthened by a Supreme Court decision that: infringement is not theft [as the infringer] did not assume physical control over the copyright nor wholly deprive its owner of its use . . . infringement does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud. . . The Copyright Act employs a separate term to define one who misappropriates: infringer (Dowling v. United States, 1985).
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 21:55:42 +0000
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