Piracy Economics

Reader Anonymous Coward the younger sends in a link to an article up at Mises.org on the market functions of piracy. The argument is that turning a blind eye to piracy can be a cheap way for a company to give away samples — one of the most time-proven tactics in marketing. The article also suggests that pirates creating knock-offs might just be offering companies market feedback that they ought to attend to. (Microsoft, are you listening?)

Arrrrr!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Firrrrrrst pirate post!

Re:Piracy is marker of immature market

[Smight]

We prefer the term "undocumented workers" to slaves.

Volunteers are the open source version of labor. If you decide to let some guy off the street extract your rupturing appendix, there's a slim chance they might actually be qualified to do that at their day job. Of course sometimes guys on the street will tell you they are "just as good as a doctor" but most of them are just trying to infect you with viruses.

Heave around line 3 Jim Lad! We set sail!

[Anonymous Coward]

Pirate Economics 101:

1. Plundering
2. Wenching
3. Yarr!

Re:Piracy is marker of immature market

[SpaceLifeForm]

With built-in WIFI, even a stand-alone PC with Microsoft software is not trustable.

Re:wtf?

[QuantumG]

You are welcome to drop by anytime.. just bring your physical object copying device from the future with you ok? Speaking of which, can I have a copy of that?

Re:mises.org

[yndrd1984]

We cover the full spectrum from run-the-economy-by-vote communists to market-worshiping anarcho-capitalists. Enjoy!

Re:Piracy is marker of immature market

[ajs318]

How about calling it "normal behaviour" ?

Re:Piracy is marker of immature market

[init100]

Piracy can really only apply to copyable objects. You can can steal a Civic but you can't "pirate" one.

You have obviously never heard of counterfeiting.

Re:Piracy is marker of immature market

[Anonymous Coward]

One of the reasons for this is that you can pirate all you want at home, but if you're a business caught pirating, you are going to get screwed. In an uncomfortable place. (and not like in a station wagon)

A station wagon isn't all that uncomfortable. Maybe you were thinking about the back of a VW.

Re:copyrights

[ultranova]

A long tyme ago I used to write. I was in the process of writing a book and some articles a magazine editor was interested in printing when an accident ended it, seeing as I was in a coma I couldn't write. However I never would of tried to write anything for publication if I knew I couldn't copyright it. Why would I spend so much tyme writing something if someone else could take what I wrote and make some money off it without me seeing a dime?

So, in short, you didn't create anything under copyright, but you wouldn't had created anything without copyright either, so copyright is better than lack of copyright. I guess that's a very good argument, as far as pro-copyright ones go.