Miscellaneous > Intellectual Property & Law
Does this make me a criminal?
flap:
quote:Technically, you were stealing.
--- End quote ---
No, technically stealing means to unlawfully deprive someone of a tangible, finite thing that they own, so they no longer have it. No-one was deprived of anything. Thus he wasn't stealng.
[ November 02, 2003: Message edited by: flap ]
Laukev7:
quote:Originally posted by flap:
No, technically stealing means to unlawfully deprive someone of a tangible, finite thing that they own, so they no longer have it. No-one was deprived of anything. Thus he wasn't stealng.
[ November 02, 2003: Message edited by: flap ]
--- End quote ---
Stealing an idea does not deprive anyone from his idea.
[ November 02, 2003: Message edited by: Laukev7 ]
flap:
Er, exactly. That's my point. You can't "steal" an idea.
Laukev7:
The dictionary doesn't agree with you.
quote: Main Entry: 1steal
Pronunciation: 'stE(&)l
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): stole /'stOl/; sto
flap:
Are you saying because "to steal a kiss" is a valid use of the word steal, it's valid in the context of copying as well? Well "steal" is obviously now also used loosely in contexts other than the literal theft of tangible items. If someone has a kiss or their "thunder" stolen, they use the word "steal" informally because it conveys the idea of a wrongdoing, but no-one's exactly going to try to prosecute for theft. Similarly with copying, you may not agree with it, but it doesn't mean it's literally analogous to stealing.
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