Re: Re: "Why It's Wrong To Call Copyright Infringement 'Theft'"

I agree with Joseph, almost without exception.

I will add a few things here. 

Coming from a background in accounting, the idea of a “name/trademark/service mark/etc.” having an intangible value of “goodwill” is an accounting fact and is actually used in calculations. As is the idea of defamation of said character/mark being illegal law of the land. So yes...the idea of “assuming someone’s identity” and doing them harm under it is most decidedly a legal problem and a civil suit, at least. If you further defraud the individual or others (in the name of the individual) during your masquerade, it is a criminal matter. One of the main problems we deal with in piracy is the assuming of our names in the commission of illegal acts. The defrauding of others and us is also involved in some cases, such as the pirates claiming to be the copyright owners when illegally selling our works on eBay or iOffer. 

Being given permission to represent another is not illegal. Nor is it immoral. This can be handled with a proxy. It can be handled with a Power of Attorney. It can be handled with a Temporary Guardianship or a Medical POA. It can even occur in a publishing contract, when I give a publisher or certain distribution channels permission to further distribute for me, for a set period of time and with certain limitations and monetary considerations. But it always includes the permission of the individual to represent him/her in very specific situations. Since we have not offered any such permission to pirates, they are not covered by such protections.

Brenna
--
http://brennalyons.com http://www.facebook.com/brenna.lyons
"When twenty-six-year-old Joey Beirs is summoned to the emergency room one evening, the last thing he expects to find is that his twin brother and Jeremy’s wife have both been killed in a car accident, leaving him an UNEXPECTED DADDY to his newborn niece, Abby."

But the idea 
that identity is not owned by the person identified seems strange to me. 
Indeed 'personation' in elections is a crime under electoral law that 
outlaws use of another person's identity in voting.

Use by another must morally be a theft. There might be tight 
circumstances i n which permission may be granted (such as a proxy in 
voting), but that also is an assertion of ownership. Identity is 
certainly intangible, as is copyright.



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