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Anna Johnson
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I know pirating media is illegal, as well as sinful. I am not trying to excuse it, but how about in those countries like Guatemala where they don't really have any copyright laws, so people sell pirated media and others unknowingly steal it using the web.
- Does the nature of the sin change because there are no copyright laws?
Anna
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Does the nature of the sin change when there are no internet copyright laws in that country? }
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Mike replied:
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Hi,
Anna —
Thanks for the question.
You said:
Does the nature of the sin change because there are no copyright laws?
No, it doesn't. Pirating media is still pirating media. The laws enacted by any state or country are totally separate from the moral law by which all Christians and non-Christians, by way of the natural law (their conscience), are bound to follow. In countries that practice Catholic Christian values, these two sets of laws (state and moral) should be very close to each other, but in those countries where they are not, moral law always overrules any secular law.
2409 Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus:
- deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost
- business fraud
- paying unjust wages, or
- forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another.
Cf. Deuteronomy 25:13-16; 24:14-15; James 5:4; Amos 8:4-6
The following are also morally illicit:
- speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others
- corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law
- appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise
- work poorly done
- tax evasion
- forgery of checks and invoices
- excessive expenses and waste
- Willfully damaging private or public property is contrary to the moral law and requires reparation.
If the buyer was unaware that the media they bought on the web was pirated media, he/she would not be culpable. Only the person who knowingly bought the stolen media would be culpable.
I hope this helps,
Mike
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Eric replied:
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Hi, Anna —
I agree with Mike, although I might say that a buyer is culpable of participating in piracy only to the degree that they are aware that the work is pirated.
I say this because in some situations the person may suspect it is pirated, or there may be indications that it is pirated, that they should recognize but don't, because they willfully turn a blind eye to it.
Eric
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