Unauthorized copying

Marvin wrote: Generally doesn't apply to software. Theft is when Bob takes an item away from Fred, without Fred's consent, such that at the conclusion of this "transaction" Bob has the item and Fred does not. Fred is denied the posession of the item; it has been stolen from him. Unauthorized copying of software, music, data, and ideas don't fit that model. Bob can make a copy of Fred's software, but this act does not deny Fred the posession of the original. Unauthorized copying is, under some (but not all) cirucumstances, illegal and/or unethical, but it is NOT theft. It is a different sort of offsense. Note that I am NOT claiming that unauthorized copying is justified. Legal "remedies" for unauthorized copying are now completely out of proportion to the nature of the offense. For example, see this comment on Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=50736&cid=5085804