Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by bduerst 3887 days ago
For physical property, yes. For intellectual property, it can still be stolen even if the original owner still has a copy.

e.g. The Soviet spies stole the plans for the hydrogen bomb.

3 comments

No, for intellectual property the word "stolen" is not appropriate.

(Well, unless you're talking about getting the courts to tell the original owner it's yours instead. Which has been at least attempted a few times.)

It is semantically appropriate for the word steal. I think you're confusing it with the criminal implications.
Ah, so you mean the actual blueprints? And the poor Americans had no copies? How stupid of them!
So... copied.