Is piracy a serious issue for game developers?

[Psionicist]

Just because it's a crime, doesn't mean it's wrong. Just because something is not right, doesn't make it wrong. In Sweden for example it's a crime to defend your home with a gun, with current laws. It's also a crime to download "warez", with current laws. However, the police don't care about this at all, because the public belive both laws are dumb. In fact, most people from Sweden think downloading a movie or so is more in the lines of importing more beer from Germany than you should, than a jailable offence - "Some people do it, good for them, hey can you burn this CD for me?". The public at large simply don't care at all, and screaming "wrong!" or "right!" or "of course it's wrong" or "everyone think it's wrong" is not going to change this.

There are no universal evils.

 

[S'mon]

Lazybones - I agree we should go back to the 1710 Statute of Anne 14-year term (later adopted in the newly independent USA), extendable to 28 years on payment of a reasonable fee. I would require registration of copyright also, at a nominal cost for the first 14 years (say $3).

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

Woo hoo! I rolled a natural 20 on my will save! I don't have to post anything meaningful (or not, for those of you who would disagree with me) on this thread!

Argh, maties!

 

[Thanee]

Searching a p2p network is not illegal by any definition of the law.

Using one isn't illegal either. It's what you download there, which makes the difference.

Bye
Thanee

 

[S'mon]

I'm not saying that you should obey copyright laws because that's the law. I'm saying you should not download copyright material because it is morally wrong. .

Rereading this I realised a problem here - all "copyright" means is you aren't allowed to reproduce the work. So this is a tautology.

My wife just told me my favourite pet fish died today.

 

[Turjan]

However, the police don't care about this at all, because the public belive both laws are dumb.

There are no dumb laws. They all make perfect sense . Here in Arizona, it's forbidden to shoot camels. I think that's a very reasonable law, given the importance of camels for the trade between regions. Or those laws that ban you from hanging male and female underwear on the same clothesline. Just think of the ecological consequences if that underwear proliferates in an uncontrolled way .

 

[Psionicist]

I'm not saying that you should obey copyright laws because that's the law. I'm saying you should not download copyright material because it is morally wrong.

Are you saying downloading any copyrighted material is wrong? Then by all means stay away from the ENW front page and pretty much everything else on the Internet, because it's sure copyrighted, and when you view it you download it.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

Just because it's a crime, doesn't mean it's wrong. Just because something is not right, doesn't make it wrong. ...
There are no universal evils

oooh, moral relativism rears it’s ugly head....

I mostly agree with you. I’ll agree that everything is relative. I'd just point out that if something is not right, it must be wrong, IMO.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

Are you saying downloading any copyrighted material is wrong? Then by all means stay away from the ENW front page and pretty much everything else on the Internet, because it's sure copyrighted, and when you view it you download it.

Let me re-phrase. Taking something that is normally sold for profit without paying for it is wrong.

Certainly viewing a web page is not morally wrong (well, in certain circumstances it could be).

If I copied the ENW front page and reposted as my own work on my own URL, that would be wrong.

Although this is a very interesting conversation, I must now sign off and engage in some behavior that is legally a crime, but is morally pure.

 

[The Persian]

Ah, and once again you find the idea that there are no black and whites, no safe harbors to seek shelter, disconcerting?

Just curious...are your morals those born of upbringing, of religion, peer pressure, personal belief, or a combination of those? That does play a factor in your adamant stand against "evil"