Piracy by default isn't legally stealing, its piracy
this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2026
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It's actually copyright infringement. The label "piracy" has no original connection to it.
Who cares about games
Digital piracy had never been stealing, and framing it as such is a huge marketing success of IP holders. Stealing requires removal of property. Piracy duplicates. It is intellectual property violation, which is distinct from stealing.
Specifically “copyright infringement”; as in you infringed on the right of the owner to dictate how and when their copy is duplicated.
It sounds necessary but “I’m the only one allowed my idea” is such a problematic concept, especially in the Information Age, it’s amazing how it’s used for some of the most egregiously greedy things.
The penalties should honestly be almost nothing.
Copywrite like patents originally was a short period to give the creator time to capitalize on their work. It was meant to drive innovation but not stifle it with monopolization.
Then it was slowly changed from that to generational ownership and monopoly. Life plus 70 years is fucking stupid.
Thanks Disney!
Copyright.
And for training AI copyright suddenly does not matter? It's them who created copyright laws and now it's them who made them pointless in their greed.
It's not just "distinct from stealing", it's not even vaguely related to stealing.
Depriving someone of their property is the main thing that makes stealing wrong. If I steal your fishing pole, presumably you're not mad that I'm now able to fish. You're mad that you are not able to fish because you don't have a fishing pole anymore.
With intellectual property, the offence is now that I'm able to do something I wasn't previously able to do, even if you're still able to do what you did before. Now you can still fish, but I'm also able to fish, and the government told you that you had the right to determine who was able to fish, and I'm fishing without your permission, so I'm violating your rights.
There's a debate to be had about whether or not copyright, patents, trademarks, etc. are good for society. Maybe they are. Maybe they're only good if the copyright term is under 4 years, and if it's over 4 years it's bad for society. Maybe that threshold isn't 4 years but 4 centuries. The main thing is that you can't think about it the way you think about stealing.
This is just a slightly more complicated version of "if buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing" or am I missing something?
gotta start reverse engineering modern consoles to make emulators
fuck the AAA gaming industry!
I just pirate everything, thats easier. I even pirate things i do have access to lol
I need someone to explain this logical leap to me either in this incarnation or the more general one. It has never been clear to me how the one follows from the other.