Minor ethical question

samsonite2100 · #1 06-21-2007, 04:20 PM

Let's start from the premise that downloading music off the internet without paying for it is theft. I'm sure some of you would argue that initial premise, but for the sake of argument, let's agree that is. Now, let's say that there's an album that you have already bought a copy of at a record store. You lose that album. You then download the album off the intrawebs. Is this still stealing? If it is, is there a substantive difference between this scenario and downloading an album you've never paid for?

livin_a_lie · #2 06-21-2007, 04:31 PM

It's the exact same thing. When you purchased the album you payed for the medium that the music is on but you dont own the music itself.

CallMeIshmael · #3 06-21-2007, 04:35 PM

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It's the exact same thing. When you purchased the album you payed for the medium that the music is on but you dont own the music itself.

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Then why can I legally backup my own music/software?

vhawk01 · #4 06-21-2007, 04:35 PM

Yeah, I think its just the same as stealing an album you don't own, and the only reason it seems any different is the 'sunk costs fallacy.'

kerowo · #5 06-21-2007, 05:40 PM

Still stealing. Because you didn't excercise your right to back up the albumn before you lost it doesn't give you the right to do so afterwards by downloading it from the web.

Arp220 · #6 06-21-2007, 05:47 PM

Hmmm...

I would argue that, in this day of DRM and DMCA and other assorted crap, that when you bought the album you bought a 'license' to that music. The medium is irrelevant (apart from the fact that you paid for it [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]). Therefore, as long as you have proof that you paid money for that album, the RIAA might have qa hard time winning a court judgment against you. But then again I'm not a lawyer, know nothing about anything, and so am hardly trustworthy...

Jimmy Afternoon · #7 06-21-2007, 06:22 PM

No.

samsonite2100 · #8 06-21-2007, 06:34 PM

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Still stealing. Because you didn't excercise your right to back up the albumn before you lost it doesn't give you the right to do so afterwards by downloading it from the web.

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I don't doubt that you're right in a legal sense. I'm wondering about this purely in ethical/moral terms.

samsonite2100 · #9 06-21-2007, 06:38 PM

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Hmmm...

I would argue that, in this day of DRM and DMCA and other assorted crap, that when you bought the album you bought a 'license' to that music. The medium is irrelevant (apart from the fact that you paid for it [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]). Therefore, as long as you have proof that you paid money for that album, the RIAA might have qa hard time winning a court judgment against you. But then again I'm not a lawyer, know nothing about anything, and so am hardly trustworthy...

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This is my thinking approximately, minus the legal analysis. If, as aforementioned, it's considered ethical/legal to backup or download music when you buy a cd, clearly you're not just buying the physical product--there's at least an implication that the money you pay is also paying for some kind of license for the music on the cd.

RevAgain · #10 06-21-2007, 07:36 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Still stealing. Because you didn't excercise your right to back up the albumn before you lost it doesn't give you the right to do so afterwards by downloading it from the web.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't doubt that you're right in a legal sense. I'm wondering about this purely in ethical/moral terms.

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Not only is he wrong in a moral sense, he is also totally wrong in a legal sense, at least in the UK. I'm not sure what US laws say. When I buy a CD I am buying a licence to use the data on the CD, I am not paying for a piece of plastic that magically transforms into sound or a piece of software when put into my drive.