"Incline not my heart to make excuses in sins..."

I think it's obvious that there has been a lot of confusion over the copyright issue. But still, we have to remember that being weak human beings, all of us like to get something for free, and we like the idea that with the internet, we have a whole "shopping mall" of stuff we can ("are technically able to") get "for free".

If you put a Jєωel thief in the middle of the biggest Jєωelry store on earth, what do you think is going to happen?

We may not be thieves at heart, but at the same time, on the internet, we're presented with all of this pirated material, where it is right there before our eyes or in our ears, to tempt us directly. It's kind of like sticking the bank's money in the bank robber's pocket and sending him out on a 'test' shopping spree, to see whether or not he really wants to go through with it. If you did that to many men who never even considered robbing a bank, they'd have to really fight with themselves! Let alone those inclined to excuse such bad behavior in themselves!

On the net we see all of the great stuff we perhaps can't afford, right there, "unlocked" and just begging to be taken... "for free". And we are tempted to tell ourselves, that this is NOT like going into the supermarket and taking an apple, because the apples don't magically reproduce themselves. But the fact remains that the author of the work SHOULD have been paid by you for the copy of what you took... and they weren't.

Now don't get me wrong... I'm all for charity, and I CERTAINLY am all for that "old" vision of why people should produce artistic works in the first place (truth, knowledge, enlightenment, learning, culture, etc.). But just like we don't hire pickpockets to make sure that everyone puts money in the collection, neither should we (or have we the right to) FORCE authors of such works to share them with all of the people who would simply rather not pay.

There SHOULD be an organization or organizations online that allow authors of all kinds of works to share them for free, if that's what they want to do. Or with certain limits ("you can read/listen to this, but only online," for example... which would encourage people to buy it for offline use). But since the charity of many HAS grown cold, not much attention has been paid to doing this. (Which given the state of the arts morally speaking, is probably actually a pretty good thing, right now, since people are mainly only producing stuff that shouldn't be produced or shared at all!)

The internet can be a wonderful tool for sharing all kinds of works. And I am all for those who want to share them. (So long as God is all for us sharing them. Eg, so long as the works are moral and not in error.) But we have no right to TAKE them from those who do NOT want to. That, I believe, ought to be common sense, and especially for the justice-minded Catholic.

We cannot rob rich men of their wealth simply because they WILL not give one dime of it to the poor. Nor can we rob artists of their works, simply because they have not the charity to share them with those who cannot pay for them. (Or, in all fairness to the artists, a way to give them ONLY to those who really, actually can not pay for them... rather than those who just don't WANT to pay.)

Artists may have their gifts from God, but they DO have to eat, buy clothes, pay bills, etc.. And the fact is, the more people take their works for free, the more money they loose. Whether or not famous persons "already have enough money" is utterly irrelevant. The fact is, if they desire to sell their work, and you just take it instead, you have deprived them of that.

If we're honest with ourselves, we won't need to hide from our consciences with excuses like "oh, that only applies in Germany" or "but there's no way to KEEP people from stealing it". We're Catholics. We know better, or at least we certainly should. When it comes down to it, there is really only ONE law that is binding... God's law. It is His ratification, so to speak, of human laws that are in agreement with justice (basically, HIS laws), that makes us have to follow those human laws.

God gives a man the gift of painting well. That man paints a beautiful picture, but that man also deserves in justice the fruits of his labors, the same as the farmer, or the baker or the tailor. This is an idea of justice, which goes well beyond national boundaries. It is the idea of justice all Catholics ought to have. Whether or not the artists are jerks or selfish or what have you doesn't matter one bit in terms of their just recompense for their labors. Whether THEY fulfill justice or do what God wants, is between them and God. Whether WE do or not, is the only thing we must concern ourselves with. You shouldn't need the threat of prison or fines in your country to get you to follow that law. It should be written in your heart to think justly, even if the laws of men are silent, or you could evade them.

Yeah, one can come up with a thousand excuses as to why we can go on disregarding this matter of just recompense for one's works. But whatever the sins of the authors, we are bound to follow God's universal law of justice. And the laborer is worthy of his reward.

I only responded because frankly, it's hard to say what the heck that slideshow was supposed to mean. But certainly, it's a topic worth discussing or delving into.

Lots of people make excuses not to follow copyright law, as if all there was to it is that "the mean ol' government" won't let us get all of this free stuff on the internet.

People need to think about the principals behind the laws, and realize that instead of making excuses, we need to be honest with ourselves, and realize that in principal they are correct, even if sometimes the punishments (of men) are overkill. If we think about it in terms of justice, there is no longer any temptation to take what isn't ours.

Anyhow, given the immorality of most of today's works, they shouldn't be out there at all, let alone easy to get our hands on! So it's really kind of a blessing that people can get into trouble for just sharing them for free.

I wonder if there are any copyright issues surrounding the publishing of a text that is 400 years old, but was found in a publication translated and printed in the 1940's?  I haven't viewed the slide presentation, does anything touch upon that situation?

Thanks for the info.  The text I am referring to is St. John of the Cross's treatise on the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, which was translated and published by the Thomist in the 1940's.  I wanted to take the translation and make a small book out of it.  So I would be using their translation, but putting it into a different format.  

The idea of copywriting songs is a modern innovation of the recording age. Prior to this era, it was not done for obvious reasons. Most of the music out there is garbage and shouldn't be listened to anyways as are most of the novels written so it really doesn't affect me.

What, only lawyers draw meaning from the words you type? If you meant your "re-phrased paragraph", why didn't you type it in the first place? Your "original version" was quite a bit simpler, and said something totally different.

I welcome anyone and everyone to the conversation, but what about those who come in and say, "We shouldn't even be having this conversation"? That's the essence of your post.

Here is how you STARTED your post:

"Incline not my heart to make excuses in sins..."

So you interpreted the whole philosophical/historical discussion in the slideshow as a big excuse to pirate copyrighted works.

You weren't joining the conversation -- you were despising (looking down upon) its very existence.

I wasn't personally offended, but "good discussion" and "logic" were extremely offended, so I had to speak up for them!

I thought your post missed the point of the slideshow, you were being overly defensive of your fellow artists' rights, even when the slideshow made no attack on them. I was telling you to "chill".

Once again, I need to tell you to "chill". I have nothing against you. You just get too excited sometimes when it comes to discussions...

You know, there ARE sins under the other 9 commandments as well. The 7th commandment isn't the first or only commandment. It seems to be your specialty, the one you are "doing the best" in, and are most scrupulous about.

I tell everyone to beware of looking down on others (justified or not) when they don't live up to your level of achievement in your "specialty" -- whether that specialty is justice, charity, frugality, hard work, sacrifice, mortification, kindness, generosity, piety -- you name it.

Matthew