Comment by throwawaykf

I'm not sure I get your point...are you saying there was no intent? Here's what I'm trying to say: If you buy a copy, everyone involved in making it gets paid. If you pirate it, they don't get paid. In other words, they were deprived of that payment. I'm sure the legal specifics are quite different, but in common parlance, taking something without permission is theft, even if it's not tangible property (e.g. "he stole my idea".)