It is a crime (morally wrong, if not outright encoded in law) to download someone else's work for free
Other people have gotten into moral arguments here, and I'll leave them to it, but I should point out that downloading a file is not, legally speaking, a crime. Its not a felony, its not even a misdemeanor. Its just a civil infraction. Just like breaking the speed limit isn't a crime[1].
[1]Well, if you exceed it by 20 mph where I grew up it becomes "criminal speeding", a misdemeanor.
EDIT: I wonder if we wouldn't all be better of if we started talking about copyright infringement as "trespass" rather than "theft". You are, legally speaking, trespassing on someone's copyright when you pirate an mp3, and it nicely conveys that people are doing something wrong that isn't as wrong as a felony like stealing.
Other people have gotten into moral arguments here, and I'll leave them to it, but I should point out that downloading a file is not, legally speaking, a crime. Its not a felony, its not even a misdemeanor. Its just a civil infraction. Just like breaking the speed limit isn't a crime[1].
[1]Well, if you exceed it by 20 mph where I grew up it becomes "criminal speeding", a misdemeanor.
EDIT: I wonder if we wouldn't all be better of if we started talking about copyright infringement as "trespass" rather than "theft". You are, legally speaking, trespassing on someone's copyright when you pirate an mp3, and it nicely conveys that people are doing something wrong that isn't as wrong as a felony like stealing.