dbwalton opened this issue on Oct 23, 2020 ยท 238 posts
Rottenham posted Sun, 13 October 2024 at 7:06 AM
Theft of digital product is not about something "missing" but rather the right to copy/duplicate it.
That is the difference.
You arent "taking the item away" but you are "copying it" without permission.
I think as digital artists we have ran across that from time to time. Finding our work earning someone else money without us getting a red cent!
The current IP laws are to protect artists from having their work "copied" without consent. And depending on the country they can be good laws or bad...
I know I have and its why I really dont like pirating....
As a kid, I was disciplined strongly for theft. I don't do it, but I see others do it often. In art school, I saw one of my assignments reappear as a movie poster. I never imagined it was a coincidence. I saw other examples too. I recently read one of the sellers on this site complaining about theft of his excellent products. We can give it a special name, as we like to do, like "virtual theft" or "digital theft," but theft is theft. I see it as a matter of pride and integrity. That said, it's pretty hard to stop. FWIW, Nikola Tesla died penniless after a brilliant and productive career, thanks partially to theft of his ideas. Tesla invented radio, for example, but Marconi patented it.
We have a lawyer behind every blade of grass, but theft (of any variety) is primarily an integrity issue. In some cases our laws actually legalize IP theft. The DMCA of 1996 comes to mind. It's a sign of the times we live in.
On this note, I've noticed that almost zero artists add their signature or pen name to their work these days. I don't understand why.