I'm a Cop...Stealing can be defined in any dictionary you like. However if you wanted the legal (as in the one viewed by the courts as the proper deffinition) check Blacks Law Dictionary. Now as for is it a crime... One must have a several things to determine whether a crime was committed. Probable Cause - is there significant reason or facts present to beleive a crime has been or is being committed. Reasonable belief - would a "reasonable" person (the average level headed joe in the world) beleive the act is wrong.
With those established, now you can move on to the elements of the crime... A generic reference for crime elements as they pertain to theft are these.
Larceny
1. That the accused wrongfully took, obtained, or withheld certain property from the possesion of the owner or of any other person;
2. That the property belonged to a certain person, agency or institution;
3. That the property was of a certain value, or some value; and
4. That the taking, obtaining, or withholding by the accused was with the intent permanently to deprive or defraud another person, agency or institution of the use and benefit of the property or permanently to appropriate the property for the use of the accused or for any person, agency or institution other than the owner.
Within each element, all the words you may find "Questionable" have to be defined by a court. These deffinitions can be found in Blacks Law Dictionary. I ain't about to get them for you.
That is the letter of the law...as read, black and white, no exceptions...
Cops and Attourneys and Courts also know another side of the Law... It's called the "Spirit of the Law"
What that means is simply this...A law that says stop at a posted stop sign is for the safety6 of personell and property. The letter of the law says you will always stop at the stop sign. The spirit says at 3 am, there is no other traffic around, so it's OK to "roll" through it. If a cop sees you roll through a stop sign at 3 am will he pull you over? Probably. Will he give you a ticket? If he gets attitude or finds more wrong, then yes. It is the discretion of the Officer and courts to determine applicablity of Letter vs Spirit. This is how "Case Law" is produced. A court finding that situations may not apply to certain laws by the letter, and exceptions are made.
Do I personally think it's stealing? No. As long as it is used at home and your copy remains in a destructable state. Is that based on what I just described? No. It's personal Opinion. I submitted the information concernin the "Legal Deffinition" of Larceny to stimulate factual debate based on Factual information. We can not argue opinion or ethics on a forum that has international attendance based simply on cultures. What Americans are brought up to beleive are certainly not what other nations beleive as far as rights and wrongs. Ethics are determined by an individuals culture, up-bringings, parents, environment and his own comprehension of right and wrong. Remember, perverted senses of ethics makes serial killers justify their actions as normal.
