The film DS watched at his mates last night....

[MrsPiddlewink]

...isn't out on DVD yet. Any other way they could have watched it without it being pirated?! DS is 8 so is probably none the wiser, but I'm a bit . Or is this standard? Would it be over the top to mention it?

I bet they do, they just don't tell anyone!

You can stream movies online instead of downloading them. Also they be accessing American netflix and it's on that. What film?

The reason it isn't the same as physical theft is because 1 when you watch the film it doesn't stop someone else watching the film. If you steal some stock in a shop that stock then cannot be sold. That doesn't happen with a film stream/download.
2 I wouldn't buy it anyway. If I couldn't watch it online I wouldn't go out and buy it. They aren't losing money from me.
3 it's ludicrously overpriced to buy a film and why is everything brought out in the USA first? If they put things in cinemas and shops on the same date in the UK as in the USA then less people would download, definitely! Why don't they just do that?

Meloria I've heard the claim before that piracy funds drug dealers. Does this mean drug dealers don't make any profit from the drugs so they would have to stop if they were not making enough from selling counterfeit DVDs to cover costs?

Also that is counterfeiting and nothing to do with downloading a film to watch yourself.

I don't know anyone under the age of thirty who doesn't download in one form or another. It's not the same as theft as already discussed because the offence is one of breach of copyright not permanent deprivation of goods. People who say it's theft clearly don't understand this aspect of the law or how downloading works.

Also movie studios aren't affected by this as much as they claim they are. If they can still afford to ship actors all over the world for movie locations and pay actors millions of pounds for a few months work then I'm convinced they aren't as badly affected as they claim to be.

Equally you want to support the arts - try attending a local youth theatre production.

Illegally downloading isn't the same as pirating movies so doesn't attract the same level of illegality or proceeds towards crime as piracy does.

This thread has been an eye opener though.

but are happy to buy pirated material.

Has anyone here paid for it?

I found out yesterday I break the law almost daily. Apparently you are not allowed to print one article out of each scientific journal or you real copyright. I print off two or three from each issue of any journal I need. Oh well!

Sorry. You are ONLY allowed to print one, not not.

There is clear evidence that it's fed into for more serious crimes like trafficking and drug distribution

Are we really suggesting that there's not enough profit in drug dealing so they have to top up their coffers with pirate copies of How To Train Your Dragon 2? Breaking Bad it ain't....

OP - just to be on the safe side I think your DS should lawyer up immediately.

Ooooh bigkidsdidit you're a maverick! Best start booking your flight to a non-extradition country asap!

You know it's a pity MN doesn't let people have avatars by their posts. We could go around asking everyone if they made it themselves or 'stole' it from the person who did.

Pshh... You can live stream movies while they're still in theaters. If you're really ambitious you can live stream before they go to theaters. It's not always good quality though.

Sometimes we live stream movies still in theaters for a bit to see if they're worth going to. Saves us from wasting money on bad movies.

Theft - to dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.

Can we stop with the 'it's the same as theft' ridiculousness now?

I can see its not theft. It's the equivalent of deciding something you wan t to do is too expensive, Eg going to a sports match and letting the other suckers pay whilst you climb over the fence

More like having a flat overlooking the country club which you can't afford to join and watching the golf anyway.

btw deciding something is too expensive is something people do who have money and can't decide if it's worth giving it away. Some people simply do not have the money to choose to spend.

Stealing is stealing whether it's from a huge multinational film company or from your next door neighbour.

People who say it's theft clearly don't understand this aspect of the law or how downloading works.

What you are doing though it not paying someone for the work they have done.

I cannot believe the amount of people who are illegally downloading and seem to think it's fine because everyone does it.
Yes films cost billions to make and are massively wasteful but they need the DVD sales and cinema ticket sales to keep going. Why should I have to pay more money for my legitimate copy because so many other people are watching it illegally? I am amazed at the number of people who see to think there is nothing wrong with it.

Theft - to dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.

So if someone takes my car, drives it for a bit and then drops it back, is that OK as they have not permanently deprived me of it?

Pipbin well it wouldn't be theft. That is called 'taken without consent', commonly known as 'twocking' round where i live. It's not theft because you are not permanently deprived of it.

Think about countries where films/music/games are simply not available to buy legally. Sites like amazon or ebay don't send anything there.

I love buying a decent quality dvd. But i don't see no shame in downloading what just isn't available to buy.

Meh it's 'wrong' but I see worse things looking out of my window...

Sorry but this made me lol

Okay - I shall confess.

This was a reverse.... DS had a mate round - they watched the film. I got a text in the morning. I'm glad she's the minority, and sorry for duping you all, I wanted to be sure I was the sane one in this scenario!

Pipbin - that wouldn't be classed as theft. That is a different offence of 'taking without consent' which is specific to vehicle taking.

Copywrite etc also has its own laws and offences - hence not theft!!

Oooh, Piddle you total outlaw, you!

One of DS1's mates got a ban because I let them watch a PG without asking his P for her G ...

Im glad it was a reverse even though I'm firmly in the not illegally downloading stuff camp. Even the thought of sending a text about this sounded really OTT to me. I don't agree with illegally downloading stuff but I would never have called someone out over it.