Should People who Ilegally Download Items be Punished?

Intro

Every now and then people look for alternative ways to obtain software. These alternatives sometimes include finding ways to get software for cheap, or for free. In this post, I'm going to discuss whether or not the people who illegally download items should be punished.

My Thoughts

On the Unknowledgeable 

 People have their reasons for committing piracy, and people also have their reasons for using products obtained through piracy.

 Take Gus for example: Gus has been in need of cash for a while. If he doesn't find a way to get some money soon, everything in his life could hit rock bottom. Then someone offers Gus free money, no strings attached, except that he can't tell anyone where he got it from. When it appears to Gus that the deal is legitimate he takes the money. Seems like it's his lucky day right? Wrong, what Gus doesn't know is that the money he's just received is stolen, and that the police are looking for someone who has recently obtained the exact amount of $15,000. If Gus is caught with this money he could go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. Is that really fair, considering that Gus didn't even know he was receiving stolen money? The answer is no.

Sometimes, people believe that they're obtaining free or cheap software from an approved, legitimate source     AKA the actual company. This isn't always true, and when it occurs to them that they've downloaded something illegally, it's usually too late. Should these clueless individuals be punished for downloading illegally obtain items? No, they should not, for the very reason that they were clueless. On the other hand, there are cases were people know exactly what they're downloading and that it didn't come from a legal source.

On the Knowledgeable

Our next example is Tom. Tom is what some people refer to as a music junkie. He's constantly streaming music, falling in love with new artists, and looking for the newest hit tracks. But sometimes, Tom comes across a new album or song that he has to pay for in order to listen to. But Tom has a trick up his sleeve. Instead of paying for music, Tom goes to a website where he knows he can download free music, old and new. He searches for the music he's looking for, and downloads it. Does Tom know that what he does is illegal? Yes he does, but he doesn't care because he only does it from time to time, and no one is ever going to find out anyway. Or will someone?

Tom is our example of a semi-frequent illegal downloader. These are the people who sometimes  illegally download things they would normally have to pay for. Downloading things like movies, instead of watching them on something like Netflix. Or games from online game services like Steam or Origin. Should these people be punished for knowingly partaking in illegal downloading? Well, yes but not too harshly. This is because these people aren't even half as bad as those who practically make a hobby out of illegal downloading. In fact, people like Tom might not even be aware of the damage they're inflicting on people and companies. But still, in certain cases, they should have to own up to what they've done, because they knew it was wrong when they were doing it.

Sources

http://yubanet.com/uploads/2/illegaldownloading.gif

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=music+junkie