Philosophical Quandry: Piracy

[Growltigger]

The hypothetical situation Fyron has put forward is illegal under English law (and I believe under the international copyright conventions).

Whether any action would be taken by the relevant games company is another question. It would have to prove loss in order to bring any effective action.

For example, Fyron's hypothetical situation would be highly unlikely (in the UK at any rate) to result in any legal action. The most a games company would do is send you a letter saying "dont do it again". You are loaning a game to a chum, not for profit and on the understanding that it is a temporary loan only.

If you were burning the CD and selling copies, then that is obviously more serious, and the act of making the copies for profit is the piracy definition employed by the courts in the UK. Lending your copy on is illegal under the copyright laws, but it is not piracy.

So, technically, the action is illegal. Is is not piracy. Is it immoral? I personally dont think so if you can control the ability of your chum to delete the game if he doesn't like it. If you are lending it so he takes a copy, then yes, I consider that that is immoral.

Arguments please?