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by LLWM 4203 days ago
Whether they are making money doesn't matter. Crimes aren't suddenly legal just because you do them for reasons besides profit. Otherwise the only murderers in jail would be professional assassins.
5 comments
toomuchtodo 4203 days ago
Are you not familiar with the distinction between manslaughter and the varying degrees of murder? Intent plays a huge part in the legal system.
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dragonwriter 4203 days ago
> Crimes aren't suddenly legal just because you do them for reasons besides profit.

Plenty of specific crimes, do, in fact, have seeking a material reward/exchange as a required element of the offense, and the act that is criminal when done for profit is legal (or, if still illegal, illegal under a different provision which often has a lesser punishment) when done without that exchange.

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baddox 4203 days ago
> Crimes aren't suddenly legal just because you do them for reasons besides profit.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that. But, at least in US law, there is a major distinction between commercial and non-commercial copyright infringement. Both are illegal, of course, but they are treated very differently.

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hasenj 4203 days ago
> Crimes aren't suddenly legal just because you do them for reasons besides profit.

That's decidedly not true.

Per your example:

> Otherwise the only murderers in jail would be professional assassins.

The people responsible for dropping the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima were not considered criminals and did not go to jail or get punished at all.

War acts are always rationalized by their consequences and the intent behind them.

But this is way off-topic.

Someone already mentioned that copyright laws do indeed distinguish between "commercial and non-commercial copyright infringement".

Actually, I'd argue that even ethically they are treated differently.

If I bought a movie then shared it with my friends, no one would think I'm doing something that's unethical.

If I started selling or renting that movie to my classmates, it's more controversial.

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thaumasiotes 4203 days ago
> Crimes aren't suddenly legal just because you do them for reasons besides profit.

Man, wouldn't that be a better world? But in the world we live in right now, lots and lots of actions are illegal for profit and legal otherwise.

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