...but in the UK it is categorically a criminal offence to send someone an unsolicited credit card. Furthermore, it is enshrined in law that the credit agreement is unenforceable (even by a court) if the agreement is not signed.
That's before we even go anywhere near the Data Protection issues...
Let's clear something up here. When you 'buy' a CD, or a DVD, or a book, or even a piece of software, the same rules apply: YOU DON'T OWN IT! You only purchase the rights to use/view/listen to it. You buy a license, but the material's copyright still belongs to the company or individual you bought it from.
I'm a complete advocate of new business models which revolutionise the way money is made from music, and the crimes committed by Napster users is not theft - but it is obviously piracy, pure and simple. These people are not paying their license fees.
The most surprising thing is how long it took for something like this to become an issue on the first unregulated and widely accessible information network ever seen (that's the Internet, for the slow or tired out there).
Slashdot Mirror
That's before we even go anywhere near the Data Protection issues...
Let's clear something up here. When you 'buy' a CD, or a DVD, or a book, or even a piece of software, the same rules apply: YOU DON'T OWN IT! You only purchase the rights to use/view/listen to it. You buy a license, but the material's copyright still belongs to the company or individual you bought it from. I'm a complete advocate of new business models which revolutionise the way money is made from music, and the crimes committed by Napster users is not theft - but it is obviously piracy, pure and simple. These people are not paying their license fees. The most surprising thing is how long it took for something like this to become an issue on the first unregulated and widely accessible information network ever seen (that's the Internet, for the slow or tired out there).