Copying

Published: 25 July 2024

A person tells me that sharing a copy of a movie is stealing. The receiver of the gratis copy is a potential customer. As a result, when the receiver watches the movie without paying, the producers lose that potential income.

I disagree with that person. I tell that person about an analogy.

A kid buys a piece of bread and shares half of it with another kid in a bakery. Then, the baker says, "You should not share your bread with another kid. You are stealing from me because your friend should buy bread from me. Do not be a pirate in my bakery!"

The baker is teaching those kids that sharing is morally equal to attacking a ship. Do you think that kid is stealing? I do not think so. The kid who shares is doing a good deed. Does the baker lose something? No, the baker does not lose anything. If the baker is a good person, the baker would say, "You are doing a good thing by sharing with your friend."

Now, you can not copy a piece of bread and share the copy with a friend. If you want to share, you have to lose something. You need to divide the bread and give that to your friend. That is a sacrifice. But, that is good because two people will be happy instead of one.

In the digital world, you can copy a file and share it with a friend. You do not need to lose anything. Two people will be happy without losing anything.

In short, the idea of "copying is stealing" does not make sense. Remember, copying is not theft. Sharing is good.