Drunky wrote:
There actually isn't a lost. As I said there would be shrink from the product being shoplifted but not if it was downloaded. If somebody downloads the item who never intended on buying it in the first place then the owner of the shop and the creator of the product wouldn't lose anything.
Yes, yes, yes. I'm sorry, as this will sound quite blunt, but I cannot possibly agree with this statement, no matter how many times it has been written in this topic, with various levels of justification.
There may be no
physical loss. I will grant you that. But there is
intellectual property that is being taken without compensation.
If someone builds something that can be distributed digitally (be it software, music, movie, whatever you like) and elects to put it on the web for free, they have decided to share their property at no cost. Download it all you want. But if someone builds something and they decide to charge for it, and you download it (illegally) for free, then there is a loss. You have taken the decision away from the person that owns the material. There is no physical inventory shrinkage. But there is still a loss.
Saying you never intended to buy it in the first place does not change that. If you don't intend to pay for it, then you have no right to the product.