Software, Movie, and Music Piracy

I have a teenage daughter, and lately, her friends have been bestowing on her these wonderful gifts of CDs and DVDs that she can add to her collections. She is almost legally an adult, so I'm going to run through these guidelines with her now and let her work out how much of it pertains to her later.

You see, it really doesn't matter what we say or what we say we are going to do, or what we say that we did. What really matters is what we believe and how much of our beliefs have become core values that we cling to and that the world can not take away from us.

I can preach until I'm blue in the face about what is right and wrong, but it's my life as a whole and my persistent actions that really matter. The word persistent here is meant to represent that occasionally we all make mistakes, and as a Christian I am forgiven for those mistakes. They do not become an example of who I am, they are mistakes, and as such, are suppose to be avoided in the future to the best of my ability. However, since they are attached to me, a human being, there is a good chance I will make those mistakes again in the future.

There is only one moment that can truly cover the sum of one's life, and that is the moment that one decides to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a life changing event. Everything else is a variable.

Back in the heyday of the Commodore 64 and later the Commodore Amiga computers I was a great pirate of computer software and I used all of the classic justifications.

• I don't have the money to buy this program so they're not loosing anything on me anyway.


• It's not really stealing because I'm not taking anything. It's just data. It's not like I'm stealing floppy disks from the store.


• When I'm rich enough to buy these programs I will, but now I'm just learning how to use them.

If these excuses sound familiar then you are now, or have been in the past, struggling with the same stuff I was then, and indeed still struggle with today. This is my rule, you get your own (ok - if you don't have one you can use this one)...

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

NO WAY - It can't be that simple can it?

Well, yes it can. I'm an artist, and I'm wondering how I would feel if something I created was just taken and used without my permission? I have given this a lot of thought, and I think it lines up pretty well with the word of God. It's based on the golden rule after all.

God does not expect you to do unto others as Billy Graham would do unto you. You see how that works? You should do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That means that this rule is based on your sincere beliefs of what is right and wrong. The law is another matter entirely. The law says the following..

If you distribute copyrighted material in any way, you are breaking the law and are potentially subject to litigation and penalties. End of conversation.

But, but, but - I know there are some objections, unknown variables, subtle rule deviations, etc., that may come to mind at this point, but the law is still the law, and I am suppose to follow the laws of the government over me unless they directly conflict with God's law. For instance, I'm not suppose to bow down to graven images, other gods, and pagan rulers and such. But we accept that as an axiom so I won't go there.

• My personal beliefs, which will probably keep me out of music industry litigation, are the following..


• It's ok for me to share a song with someone, but not a complete CD.


• It's okay to invite them to my house to watch a DVD I bought or rented but it's not ok to give them a copy of that DVD.


• It's okay for me to mix several CDs that I own into a special mix for someone in my household, but not for someone who doesn't own the CDs in question.

Concerning software, it's okay for me to use a program like 3D Studio Max or Maya 3D or Lightwave 3D to learn how to use the program, but it's not okay for me to create revenue from that software until I own the right to use it that way. (This rule is very personal, and is probably pretty easy to defeat in a court of law, but the software in question is very expensive, and is intended for graphics professionals, not novices and people experimenting with it for learning purposes.) So if you make money with it, or use it in your work, then buy it. That's why it was created.

This is the simplest way to think about something like a piece of software, a DVD, or a Music CD.

It's like a book from the library. You can't create a situation where two people in two different locations could read the same book at the same time. You can loan it to someone and let them read it, but you can't make a photocopy of the book, and give it to them.

There is a reference to this in Romans chapter 2 titled, "Jews Are Judged with Impartiality". It's the reason I'm writing this article.

For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

What this is saying is what I said at the beginning of this article. It matters what you do persistently, innately. Not what you say is the right or wrong thing to do. Some people are living according to God's will without the law. It's simply in them, and you don't have to teach it to them. However, no one is completely without sin, and therefore we all need forgiveness.

Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?...

This is where the rubber meets the road isn't it?

Do what I say AND what I do!

As you can see, my quandary is to teach my daughter what she is suppose to do and lead her by example. I'm not perfect and I've made some (ok many) mistakes, so how can I expect her to do the right thing? Well, I can teach her in the way she should go and she will not (usually) depart from it. That's about the best any of us can do for our children. I put the word usually there because I know she is going to make mistakes just like I have, and I know that because she is a Christian, she is forgiven as well.

Copyright 2004 - Tom Roe - WWW.TOMROE.COM