olsen@athena.mit.edu (James J Olsen) (12/18/89)
> [Barry Shein] I'm not sure we should take their [SPA's] emotion-loaded > word "piracy" at face value. > [Peter da Silva] If the pirates (yes, pirates) are so damn good, let > them write their own freeware... Piracy is an ancient crime of violence. The crime of Copyright Infringement is of relatively recent origin and is non-violent. `Piracy' is an inappropriate metaphor for copyright infringement. Even `theft' doesn't quite make it as a designation for infringement, since the two crimes are really distinct (e.g., `theft of software' means that someone broke into the Computerland store and stole 50 copies of Lotus 1-2-3. Making 50 copies of 1-2-3 in your basement is a different crime.) My suggestion? The most straightforward and descriptive designation is `illegal copying'. If you must use a colloquial term, call it `bootlegging'. That crime is indeed quite similar to copyright infringement, and is a much more apt metaphor than is `piracy'.