[UFO Chicago] Intellectual property

[Nick Moffitt]

begin  Neil R. Ormos  quotation:
> Of course, that assumes that there's an "exchange" of two ideas, as
> opposed to the usual case in which you have an idea and I steal the
> idea without giving you something in return.  You still have your
> idea, but if you didn't give it to me voluntarily, I've been
> unjustly enriched.

from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:

  Theft \Theft\, n. [OE. thefte, AS. [thorn]i['e]f[eth]e,
     [thorn][=y]f[eth]e, [thorn]e['o]f[eth]e. See {Thief}.]
     1. (Law) The act of stealing; specifically, the felonious
        taking and removing of personal property, with an intent
        to deprive the rightful owner of the same; larceny.

     Note: To constitute theft there must be a taking without the
           owner's consent, and it must be unlawful or felonious;
           every part of the property stolen must be removed,
           however slightly, from its former position; and it must
           be, at least momentarily, in the complete possession of
           the thief. See {Larceny}, and the Note under {Robbery}.

Note "complete possession of the thief".

Thus, notions of theft cannot be attributed to ideas.  Come up with
another term if you like.  Come up with other ways to explain
injustice, but do NOT call it theft.  

Most people I run into say "copyright violation is theft because
copyright is about property", and then they say "copyright is about
property because violation is theft".  In fact, copyright is a
*limited monopoly*, and is not designed to implement property law.
It's more like a public subsidy, such as NEA funding.

Using terms like "property" and "stealing" are colorful metaphors that
distract discussion away from the issues at hand.

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