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ethics and law
Friday, April 9th, 2010 04:31 pmVia BoingBoing, an illegal download is not necessarily unethical.
Which is the distinction I was probably trying to make in last year's post re PirateBay.
Lately:
- I've purchased ebooks that I already own in dead-tree versions, and didn't that turn out well;
- I've downloaded an illegal copy of a CD I own that won't play any more;
- I've even *gasp* done it the other way round, and bought a legal copy of a movie after watching a downloaded version.
There are some shades of grey here, and some ethical issues, that could do with test cases. (Do not get me started on the Digital Economy Bill. Though presumably they cannot prosecute* if you are using illegal-content websites but downloading / sharing files that are not illegal, e.g. out-of-copyright musical performances and public-domain text.)
*but will have a bloody good go, or rather will not give a damn what you are downloading
Which is the distinction I was probably trying to make in last year's post re PirateBay.
Lately:
- I've purchased ebooks that I already own in dead-tree versions, and didn't that turn out well;
- I've downloaded an illegal copy of a CD I own that won't play any more;
- I've even *gasp* done it the other way round, and bought a legal copy of a movie after watching a downloaded version.
There are some shades of grey here, and some ethical issues, that could do with test cases. (Do not get me started on the Digital Economy Bill. Though presumably they cannot prosecute* if you are using illegal-content websites but downloading / sharing files that are not illegal, e.g. out-of-copyright musical performances and public-domain text.)
*but will have a bloody good go, or rather will not give a damn what you are downloading
