I have a great friend in North Africa who wrote this past week to ask, “When you read Kings in the Bible do you find yourself cheering for them to do all the right stuff? Does it make you ache each time one does lots of good stuff but then doesn’t tear down the ‘high places’?
He continued, “I’ve pondered what the ‘high places’ are in our day and age… perhaps things accepted by cultures as being okay (but not by God). Do pirated DVDs fit that category? To my knowledge it’s impossible to buy an original movie in the country where I live. But does that mean the local ones are illegal? Did all countries really agree to uphold international copyrights? Or is that term really broader than its authority? I’d like to know because I don’t want to leave up any high places.” What do you think? Please jot your opinion by clicking “Comment” immediately after this item on the web at
You’ve hit on a challenging issue. I’m currently in the Middle East and part of my role is pastoring an international church. We attempted to purchase a license from CCL for our worship songs and they refused us because our country had not signed some international agreement. Now what do we do?
My son’s also found that virtually all movies or video games or software are pirated. I don’t know that I have the word from God on this, but with my sons we said while we are in the country we will do it “their” way, but none of the pirated stuff is allowed to return to the US with us.
I look forward to what others have to say.
Living in a Buddhist country that pirates everything, I have had to deal with this a lot. I feel that it’s something you have to pray about in each situation, and know what your motivation is for buying things. For example, are you buying pirated copies because that’s all you can get there, or is it because you want to save money on legal copies? Is it something you really need, or the Kingdom of God needs, or is it a waste of your time and money? (I believe that God wants us to have fun and times of rest, so I’m not saying that if it’s only entertaining, it’s wrong).
But if your heart condemns you, it is best not to. I sometimes buy illegal DVD’s here because legal American copies aren’t dubbed in our local language like the illegal copies are, and I show these movies to street kids to build relationship with the. So I think you should just ask the Lord what to do. He leads us all differently in areas that aren’t clear in the scriptures because He calls us to different things.
That’s definitely an issue many wrestle with. Opinions abound.
Copyright laws were set up to protect the Hollywood and Madison Avenue rackets and to keep money flowing into executive pockets.
In developing countries, their systems of trade doesn’t neatly sync with the systems in the US or European Union. Should buying and selling cease in the southern and eastern hemispheres until their laws jive with ours? When that happens, the price of Nikes will increase significantly. Until then, enjoy your movies and video games while you support the local economy. And look forward to the day when you are back home where all business is done ethically and every dollar is earned legally :)
I myself refuse to copy or support pirated dvd’s. The same for music. I hear the issue you have, but maybe you should not then purchase any dvd’s since their source is corrupt. On the side of software you have many options for open source software from operating systems to office type programmes to accounting programmes. We use Open Suse and Ubuntu (dual operating) along with Open Office, Postgresql for database warehouse, Kmail for email, and Quasar Accounting (single user). Included in most distributions are ample programmes to manage photos, browsers, graphics, etc. There are some gray areas regarding codecs that still need resolving, but you can opt what you wish to use or not use. Hope this helps.
This is an issue I’ve been struggling with in West Africa. Legal copies of DVDs, music, and software are almost impossible to find here. I have gone back and forth many times on this, often justifying it because I live in one of the poorest countries in the world. How can my friends be expected to pay the equivalent of 2 weeks salary for a DVD?
But is poverty an excuse for breaking the law? Are we entitled to something that someone else has even if we can’t afford it?
Stealing is stealing. Copyright infringement is copyright infringement. Content providers ultimately control how their works are distributed. Hollywood especially has gone to great lengths to control what markets their films are distributed in and how much they will charge in each location…both in standard theater releases and now DVDs. The whole idea behind region coding on DVDs is to control where and how they are distributed. Many times we don’t agree with their practices and we respond with, “Why don’t they release that movie in my country? Or why is it so much more expensive here? It just isn’t fair!”
The bottom line is that it’s not up to us. If the owner of a copyright work chooses not to release their work in a particular location or to charge more than the local market can bear, that is their decision. They are the owner. We need to respect that. It will probably mean that a lot of things we “want” won’t be available where we live.
There is no Mercedes dealer in the country where I live. They can be imported legally and bought through proper channels…but they are very expensive. You can also buy a much cheaper Mercedes that was stolen in Europe and brought here illegally. Is it right to buy a stolen car because you want it cheaper? How about buying a stolen car because the model you want isn’t available any other way?
The real difficulty lies in trying to convey these ideas to our national friends and co-workers. Their culture has no concept of copyright law. This is especially true with music and software. But we’re seeing the same thing happening in the western world where values are being eroded and illegal copying is now accepted. Why did DRM fail? Because illegal copying has become accepted and people won’t tolerate not being able to make copies for their friends.
Satan is using this issue to break down our values. He is using it justify sin. Everybody’s doing it, so why not me? As Christians, we need to face this issue for what it is. We need to expose sin and explain why to those around us. We need to live as examples of our faith and encourage others to do the same. Copyright infringement is no different than the issues the world is facing with pornography. Many unspeakable sins of the past are now becoming commonplace in our cultures. Satan is wearing us down. He’s eroding our values and moving us further from God. He’s convincing us to take and do things because we deserve it. We need to stand against him, renounce the sins that he is trying to rationalize, and not be drawn in by the ways of the world.
If I make a rule today that everyone has to hop all day on 1-leg will that mean you’re all law breakers if you don’t? I don’t think so unless you agree to that rule.
My question is this: what countries have what agreements related to Hollywood’s copyrights? If the countries where we live have them then it seems we’re obligated to obey them. If not, it doesn’t seem to be more than a request to me…
But how to find out who has what agreements?
Heads-up that this is the legal word from handling copyright and translation issues for 15 years. Believers would never walk into a store and walk out with a shirt without paying for it, yet shoplifting is done throughout the world every day. When anyone uses stolen merchandise, they are complying with the criminals. If there was not a market, there would not be pirating. Pirated materials literally take the money out of the hands of the artists that created the performance being viewed or synched. That’s a hard line, but if Christians don’t say “no,” who will? You can’t have it both ways. I once tried hard to get permission from a Christian musician to synch his cool song with a people group promotional video. When I saw a slide show (PPT) by a missionary that synched to the song, I was excited that he got permission and asked him how he did it. The missionary looked at me with a look that betrayed full knowledge of ripping off a godly artist. It transcends personal use. The ends never justify the means. Jesus said, “Render unto Ceasar what is Ceasars.” End of story. This should never be an issue. And forget praying about this or adultery or murder. Oh, and if you cannot find the copyright holder, then keep 40 percent of the country-of-origin (not local) purchase price to send to the artist for every usage of the synched performance, game played, or movie viewing. Is it worth it? There’s a phrase “starving artist” for a reason. Is it you?
We lived 3 years in a country with a population small enough that the distributors didn’t want to bother with providing legal DVDs, etc. We did not have a TV, so bought pirated DVDs to watch on our computer for entertainment now and then. We, however, did not bring any of them back to the US with us when we left the country.
This is all good stuff! My rule is this, “if I have to ask myself, “”is this right”, then I already know the answer. We work in many of the countries mentioned and face the same dilema. If you are using music that is copy protected just write to your favorite authors and they will give you carte blanch permission to use their stuff as a gift to your ministry. I have worked with many of them and they are more than happy to support your ministry in this way. As for DVR’s and games It is for each to seek the Lord.
OK… I have a question then. When I search for a particular author’s name on Google, I often uncover all kinds of blogs (who knows if it’s an imposter). Is there one particular songwriter’s database, for example, that tells contact information for each major publisher? … And by the way, does the author actually have permission, when the song has been released by a publisher?
The old school answer is to refer to the copyright information on the CD jacket. With downloads possible today from a variety of sources, there should always be some tracking for copyright permission or performance synchronization if it’s legit. The song producers will always know the route to recommend. Hey, it’s often how they get paid — or at least protect their investment. Christian artists are often generous, especially if they’re new and want to get their name out. Sometimes established artists want to support your cause and will get behind your work. Others will want a one-time fee just to set a standard in the industry. Many that I have talked with don’t charge anything, but simply want to know how the Lord is expanding their ministry and love keeping track of what God has done through them. When requesting permission, it is okay to ask that royalty charges be waived because of your cause, project, etc.
Hmmmm…a couple of people have commented that they buy pirated DVDs in their country but refuse to bring the back to the U.S. Why does your conscience kick in only when you get on a plane? Because theft and piracy are accepted in a particular country does not make it right. Theft is still theft no matter what country you’re in.
I take a pretty hard line on this topic, resonating strongly with other commenters who have made the comparison to buying stolen goods.
The artist made the CD/DVD in order to make money. It belongs to him. If he chooses to let you use it freely that is his decision, but you cannot make it for him. (In most cases he/she has ceded his rights to the publisher in which case it is the publisher who has the right to decide how to use it.
All arguments for pirating software, music, video, etc. seem to work only because they refer to a copy-able item. If you change the item into a television then everyone agrees it is wrong to take it and use it against the owner’s desires. So one has to make the argument that somehow copy-able items have no value once you have copied them in order to justify the copy. But the problem is in the act of copying it you have admitted that it has value — if it had no value then you wouldn’t be copying it! So you are taking something of value that the owner/writer/producer has the right to and you are using it against their explicitly stated desires without paying them. It’s either outright theft or purchasing stolen property…
I work in Albania. They love to quote “you in the west have copyright; we in Albania have right to copy.” Piracy is rampant and completely accepted. However, there is a small group of people who are against it — anyone who has written a book and doesn’t want you making a photocopy, recorded a CD and doesn’t want you to copy, etc. Why is it that we feel that the COPIERS get to make that decision instead of those who have invested the time and money and creativity into the creation of the product itself?
If you are interested in the legal argument you can find out which countries have signed onto int’l copyright here (with the usual potential for errors that are inherent with wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_party_to_the_Berne_Convention
However, as Christians I believe we are held to the higher standard of righteousness rather than the lower standard of legality. If I live in a country that doesn’t have a law against buying stolen televisions, does that mean I can take advantage of that situation? Clearly the higher standard is what the Bible says about personal property (“thou shalt not steal” comes to mind). Thus if it belongs to someone else, you must buy it or else use it in the way they require. And the fact that it is intellectual property rights rather than tangible property is irrelevant since your desire for the object in question is ample proof of the value of the object, thus proving that it falls within the category of that commandment mentioned above.
Hey, that last post and its hyperlink was practical and relevant to the question: whether it’s legal or not…
(Note: I’m assuming every country has the right to establish its own laws.)
So if the country where I live has not signed off on the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIPO_Copyright_Treaty)
portion of that list, then the country where I live is saying it doesn’t acknowledge the copyright. Is that correct?
*Very* strong logic there, Anonymous. Hear, Hear.
Doug
One reader commented that few (or perhaps none) of us would ever walk into a store and walk out with a product such as a television without paying for it.
I see the logic in that but I also know that much of the technology in certain (or most?) parts of Asia have been copied or reverse engineered. So do I feel guilty, am I sinning if I purchase a locally produced television that was built on technology stolen from Panasonic or Sony or Phillips? What about the toaster that I use to toast my bread? Or the microwave oven? Are the companies that produced the designs for these products getting their just royalties for these knock-offs? I doubt it. Am I contributing to this injustice by purchasing local products?
To me it all seems to be a very slippery slope when we start to condemn others for things that we are personally convicted about. I am just not sure that we can find biblical justification for condemning a brother (either a fellow ex-pat or a local) for these choices. I also think that some of the people who choose to buy, view or use pirated materials should be more gracious to those who feel it is sinful and respect their convictions.
North Korea counterfeits USD 100 bills very well. The government themselves does it. (I don’t know this – maybe I’m mixing up my novels with reality ;-) )
Does the fact that the government has the right to make their own laws make it that North Korea is doing something ethical? I don’t think anybody would say so. Why? Because the US government “owns” the right to make $100 bills. So from the laws of N. Korea nobody could be put on trial — they apparently don’t have a law that says they can’t do this (if they do then make it a hypothetical situation).
The fact of the matter is that we recognize “ownership” as something that transcends national laws. The artist/programmer/etc has the right to determine who may use their product BECAUSE THEY MADE THE PRODUCT.
If the company who made the software was instead a little old lady who lived hand to mouth and was barely able to buy bread — your purchase price on the software pays for her meals for this week — would that change the way we look at software piracy? If so, what does that say? That stealing from the rich is OK but stealing from the poor is not OK?
“Condemning” is a word which carries a lot of baggage with it. This is an area I have done some extensive study on wrt the ethics and I’ve come to some clear conclusions based on the fact that all arguments I’ve seen to date simply don’t hold water. Thus I’m identifying a particular act as one which is morally and ethically wrong. I really don’t think there is an argument that can be used to move it over into the “gray” area. So does that mean I’m condemning someone? I’ll leave that up to you… :-)
I will say that I still fellowship with people that I know pirate DVDs or software just as I fellowship with people that I know gossip. And other people still fellowship with me even though I sometimes tell half truths and am prideful and etc. But if I really love those people I *will* say something about their gossip and if they really love me they *will* say something about my pride, right? My intent is to be iron sharpening iron, not to be “condemnatory” (if that’s a word :-) ).