Mastodawn

adr1an Mar 27, 2024

Piracy was NEVER stealing

https://programming.dev/post/12017733

Piracy was NEVER stealing - programming.dev

It doesn’t matter if it’s a CD, a Film, or manual with the instructions to build a spaceship. If you copy it, the original owner doesn’t lose anything. If you don’t copy it, the only one missing something (the experience) is YOU. Enjoy! Of course, if you happen to have some extra money for donations to creators, please do so. If you don’t have that, try contributing with a review somewhere or recommending the content, spread the word. Piracy was shown to drive businesses in several occasions by independent and biased corps (trying to show the opposite).

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shrugal Mar 27, 2024

Depends on how you define stealing.

If you say it’s taking something away from the original owner then you’re right, but if you say it’s not paying your share of the costs of a good you’re using then you’re wrong. E.g. if you go to a concert and don’t pay the entrance fee then the concert will probably still happen, but you’re not reimbursing the artists and crew for their cost and effort.

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skookumasfrig Mar 28, 2024

You’re right. Here’s the difference though. With “piracy” they can estimate how many copies have been “stolen” and deduct that from their taxable income.

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sadreality Mar 28, 2024

U got some sauce for that?

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skookumasfrig Mar 28, 2024

www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515

Theft loss.

Topic no. 515, Casualty, disaster, and theft losses | Internal Revenue Service

Topic No. 515 Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Losses

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borari

From your source verbatim, emphasis mine:

A theft is the taking and removal of money or property with the intent to deprive the owner of it. The taking must be illegal under the law of the state where it occurred and must have been done with criminal intent.

Piracy of digital media would not meet that threshold set by the IRS. If any media publisher is deducting this type of “loss” from their taxes it sure reads like they’re committing tax fraud.