Making a copy without the owner's consent is not just illegal, it is immoral. Photo / Thinkstock
Opinion
It would be fair to say I have not always been scrupulous about respecting other people's property rights but, like St Paul, once I found the religion I became evangelical.
The theft of intellectual property by downloading songs and movies does not feel like stealing, but it is. No one
cares about Hollywood movie moguls and the likes of Kanye West, who live in a world of great wealth and morally ambiguous starlets.
Copyright is important to New Zealand. A 2011 PwC report estimated that the film and television industry contributes $2.7 billion to annual GDP and employs 21,000 people who earn an average salary of $71,000. It is a lucrative and important business that contributes more than the wine industry.
The NZ Federation Against Copyright Theft (NZFACT), an industry body, estimates that as much as a quarter of potential revenue is lost to copyright theft, yet the law has no effective remedy.
Frederick Higgins, convicted of illegally copying Sione's Wedding from the production house where he worked, escaped prison. He earned, instead, 300 hours' community service, despite costing the producers an estimated million dollars.
