Is that relevant to the legality of it?
Sorry but this is not what I am saying, I may be an old geezer but my opinion on young generations is that they are smarter than we were at the same age. But for every generation there is a battle for education (and for every generation there are different incentives to be lazy : though “lazy” this is not the proper word -sorry english is not my native language-).
BTW I write open-source software myself (but I am paid for it!) If I wrote a book (a possible occurence) I would like to get paid for it: a friend of mine did that but his conclusion was that he must have swept floors instead because the hourly salary was less than that of a street-sweeper (mind you I respect street-sweepers: that was just for comparison purposes). So you think that electronic copies of the book are just free?
Before I say anything else, I’d like to clarify this. I think I wrote this very poorly. The above should read:
I don’t think I should be able to sell anything that is patented by someone else. I don’t think I should be able to sell anything that is copyrighted by someone else either.
In other words: The people who hold the patents or copyrights are the only people who should be profiting off their works. No one else.
Oh, such follies I read here. Should I indulge?
That does read somewhat differently 
We’re still left with some issues though. What you’re suggesting is that the only way for an author to make money from what they write is to self publish on their own printing press at home and sell direct. No publishers or book shops allowed. ISTM the ink and paper supplier is left in a morally dubious position though. Similarly for music.
Even if you want to ban paper books and CDs and force everybody to use MP3s and Kindles, how do you process payments without the bank making a profit? Your server provider is then also operating in a legal grey area.
Mafia
Just few Words
The MAFIA (Music and Film Industries Asociation) 
Is very small in making Money compared to many others like Steel, Transports, Finance, Car and so on
But why do nearly all Governments around the World listen so much to them and starting to change Laws, so it looks more and more like Censorship and controlling the free Internet and also reduce the freedom of Speech?
That is IMO the real thing not copyright issues
This statement makes absolutely no sense. What good is a distribution channel if there is no content to distribute?
In your rosy utopia where no one gets anything from their creative works, there will be very little available and what is available will be crap. Enjoy…
There’s a huge different between sharing information and stealing information, and that decision should be made by the producer of said information.
Your argument seems to be that since it’s so easy to steal these days, that the act of stealing should be legal. I can’t see any merit to that argument. All it tells me is that you have no respect for the work of others.
Huh? You just said it should be legal to steal… so there won’t be ANY profits going to anyone.
SOPA/PIPA is not about piracy
So I am going to be completely honest here, I did not read all the previous posts. I made it half the way through before it got very labor intensive and seemed almost abusive, which to me is is where the problem lays with this whole situation.
Anti-Piracy people claim that the goods that were made, namely the people who made/produced them, deserve compensation (for that is how a capitalist economy functions).
Pro-Piracy claim that it’s not stealing and if anything it’s sharing as you would share a book (or more accurately a text document, since you can actually make “worthless” copies of a text document).
My philosophy on the whole situation is as follows: I think that a large majority of media that is produced these days is fairly worthless. This includes movies, games, software, music, even some books are starting to degrade in quality. Personally, I pirate things that I find intriguing or worth looking into, and if the product is worth paying for and I have the ability to do so, I buy it. A good game development company or a good musician deserves the money to pay for what they did and enjoy a lifestyle that reflects the efforts they put into their work, and if I feel they did good work and I know I enjoyed the product enough to deem it “worthy” of paying I do so.
HOWEVER
The SOPA/PIPA bills are no longer a matter of piracy at all. Sure, that was the intention they were drafted to stop, but the power it gives the US government over the entire internet is simply ridiculous. For those of you who haven’t gotten a chance to read into it, do so. It allows (and allow me to abbreviate the specifics a little) the US government to, upon suspicion of even helping host copyrighted material (even in the user generated content!!), close down the entire website and then allow the site to try and prove their innocence. These sites include YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, CNN (any news site really), etc.
As an example, if someone posts on CNN a link or any type of copyrighted material the US government has the ability to shut down cnn.com without any proof other than an accusation. Of course, CNN probably helps lobby this bill so that’s unlikely, but still the point lies they will shut down the ENTIRE SITE for user generated content. This will very likely destroy youtube and wikipedia, and if either make it through the gauntlet they will be severely different.
Fun fact, if a company decides they were falsely accused and the site went down for no reason, in the bill it also states it is illegal to counter-sue for compensation.
There are other things worth checking into as well, read into the bill!
This is worth reading into, you need to know about this bill and what it will do. This isn’t about piracy right now, this bill was pushed far too fast and is worded to give the government way too much power.
The internet is intended for free speech and activity, that’s kind of it’s purpose. This bill will literally destroy the internet as we know it. If you agree with the idea of an American lifestyle with nobody watching over your shoulder and controlling everything you do, this should never pass.
At least, that’s my view on the matter.
Edit
Sorry everyone, just realized this was a thread entirely devoted to data piracy, not just the SOPA/PIPA act. Still, the first part of my post is relevant!
Interesting wording. What do you do with the things you’ve pirated which you don’t think worth paying for or don’t have the ability to do so? Why do you even waste your time pirating things in the latter category?
Frequently I’ll have heard of a game, software, of music that sounded intriguing but I can’t tell if I would like it from what I can find online. If a demo is available I try that, but most game demos don’t have full gameplay capabilities, most music is 20-30 second segments and software often has the same problems games do. Downloading it gives me a chance to “test drive” and see if I like it before I put investment down. I’m a recent college graduate working on getting into grad school, so the little (if any) disposable income I have is very heavily coveted.
If I downloaded it and found it lacking, I generally just delete the offending files.
I don’t pirate anything. The last time I pirated something was probably back when it wasn’t strictly illegal, like 14 or so years ago.
My reasons are mostly ethical, but if you think that means I approve of software patents (or patents in general) or the way copyright currently works you are sadly mistaken. I have a whole book of things that are wrong with them.
There was a time before these concepts were introduced. Copyright was a huge blow to our cultural development and there are people dying right now thanks to our patent system.
This is quite a bold statement to make. Care to back it up with any facts?
I can already see some huge gaps in the logic you may apply…
They’re out there for those who seek them.
I on the other hand am our of here. It’s not like any thing of worth has been said. People justifying their selfish piracy and different people arguing against them. All sides argue with greed and without vision.
Well thanks for dropping by just to post something sensationalist then leave without defending yourself.
So I can’t sell my book in a bookstore? Really? Explain what you meant by that. Why can’t I pay someone who has a distribution channel? What’s evil or unethical about owning bookstores, or an online store like eBay?
Basically, because it’s a lot harder to steal steel. 
The steel industry doesn’t have a similar problem so why bring them up?
If it has no value to you, stay out of the argument. If you want it, even if for free, it does have value to you. Even if only for the time you would take to download and “consume” or even sample it.
Always? Every single time? If you do, you are a very honest person and not representative of a lot of people posting in this thread. In other words, the “honor system” doesn’t seem to be economically viable.
Definitely sounds like major violations of the general rule of law. Doubt it has any chance of passing in that form.
And yes, those two bills aren’t about pirates, they’re about “potential” pirate-hosting companies.
Hey now. My greed has plenty of vision! <slurping noises/>
Yup, I would really like to learn more about your opinion of the damage patent and/or coypright law has done to our modern world. I can’t just look it up, because it’s not going to have your point of view explained.
I have a long reply to previous questions that I haven’t finished writing up yet, but this is quick so:
I am apparently not very good at spelling out my views, or I’m trying to be too specific. Or what I think should be obvious to others, is not (which may stem from my apparently odd views on things). Anyway, my statement was meant as it pertains to those who would distribute another person’s work for profit without paying the originator of the work. I meant that while it should be okay to give away copies of something for free, and without any commercial purpose; It should not be okay to charge people for work that is not your own, without the originator’s consent.
Book stores, ebay, amazon, sears, whatever, are all fine by me.
You’re going to have to explain to me how and where that happens under the current system.