Topic: Unlicensed Acad from your teacher

[Willie]

You know, the actual name has the action in it.. "COPY"right.  It's not theft.  It's illegal copying.

If I steal a cd from a store, they now have one less copy to sell.  If I copy the cd, that cd is still there to sell, but I now have an illegal copy.

Similarities.. sure.. but I do, like Tuoni, apparently, often have the urge to pick that nit, that they are not the same, despite what mainstream media will try to convince you of.

It boils down to theft.

This is a black and white issue.  There are no room for grey in between.

[Tuoni]

I don't see where the grey comes into it. No matter what you say, it's still not theft. Whether you agree with piracy or not, you cannot say it's theft. If i walk into a restaurant and take a meal without paying, that is theft. If I make a copy of that meal you cannot say that is theft.

[Keith™]

It is theft of intellectual property, rather than the theft of tangible goods. The end result is the same. Someone worked hard, spent money, did whatever to build something, write something, compute something, and someone else aquired it without the consent of the owner of said item.

Now, it is true that copyright does protect the owner of such intellectual property (and tangible goods too) from unlawful copying, but it is defined as a crime by most countries.

Of course with most software today, it isn't so much about having it .. software companies generally give you a copy for free, but you have to purchase the license.

[James Cannon]

Did you pay Isaac Newton for his derived equations to explain the physics of the natural world?

[mjfarrell]

Did you pay Isaac Newton for his derived equations to explain the physics of the natural world?

He wasn't in for the money

[James Cannon]

Or maybe he felt he had no right to claim ownership to knowledge, like many European cultures?

Keith, (or anyone), do you believe that a government's laws are the supreme source of authority, or do you believe there are greater things that dictate rights and morality?

[mjfarrell]

Yes


However due to mankinds inability to act morally, it has become the burden of governments, and or religions to pass laws in an effort to enforce morality onto society.

If all of us lived out our lives in the manner of (buddha, alla, or jawe) pick one; then there would be no need for any laws.

however we don't; so there are

[James Cannon]

And if one holds a freedom or tenant of morality that Knowledge is free and accessible to anyone, then would not copyright law impede this in many forms and fashions, if it were to inhibit students who are not profitting monetarily from the use of said software?  If there is knowledge being governed and distributed to only a select class or group, then that would surely prove unjust to many tenants and beliefs in much of the world.

However, the USA, placing the dollar above all else, impedes many things in honest and victimless situations.

[mjfarrell]

when one puts a price on everything, nothing has any value

[Avanti]

Interesting discussion.  Am I wrong in assuming we all get paid for our time, and the knowlege to use it productively?  Shouldn't writers of software be able to do the same?

[Tuoni]

Interesting discussion.  Am I wrong in assuming we all get paid for our time, and the knowlege to use it productively?

Yep.

Shouldn't writers of software be able to do the same?

That is not what is under question.  What is under question here is the morality of using a "pirate" copy (bear in mind, it locks a student into that platform...)  over a student license (both of which cost exactly... £0 to the end person.  Meaning a whole £0 loss in profits to AutoDesk - how will they ever absorb losses on that scale?!?)

I actually applaud the lecturer for giving his students an uninhibited copy of AutoCAD.  The students get to use a "proper" copy of Vanilla, AutoDesk lose a whole £0, with the end result being that the students get trained up on AutoCAD...  which equates to an extra seat (etc) sold by AutoDesk once the student graduates.  It's a pretty well known fact that a lot of programs have only become de facto due to rampant piracy of their products, resulting in spiralling sales.  Hell, it doesn't just apply to software, but also music.

[James Cannon]

Interesting discussion.  Am I wrong in assuming we all get paid for our time, and the knowlege to use it productively?  Shouldn't writers of software be able to do the same?

They don't get paid for the student version, do they?

[Keith™]

Interesting discussion.  Am I wrong in assuming we all get paid for our time, and the knowlege to use it productively?  Shouldn't writers of software be able to do the same?

They don't get paid for the student version, do they?

Yes they do .. sombody had to write it and compile it

Also, the student version does cost money, it isn't free

[Tuoni]

Interesting discussion.  Am I wrong in assuming we all get paid for our time, and the knowlege to use it productively?  Shouldn't writers of software be able to do the same?

They don't get paid for the student version, do they?

Yes they do .. sombody had to write it and compile it

That's not what he meant and you know it.  He was referring to AutoDesk, not the programmers.

Also, the student version does cost money, it isn't free

Well, it didn't cost me a penny.

[James Cannon]

Interesting discussion.  Am I wrong in assuming we all get paid for our time, and the knowlege to use it productively?  Shouldn't writers of software be able to do the same?

They don't get paid for the student version, do they?

Yes they do .. sombody had to write it and compile it

Also, the student version does cost money, it isn't free

Not to the student is doesn't.