Comment by the_af
21 days ago
The first case is theft as legally and traditionally defined. It has low impact, since the item would have likely ended up in the garbage, but it's still theft as we understand it and as law defines it.
The barber example is not theft. You cannot steal a haircut. You may be harming the barber, but it's not theft.
Copyright infringement is not theft, because you're not stealing anything.
Words matter!
> The barber example is not theft. You cannot steal a haircut. You may be harming the barber, but it's not theft. [...] Words matter!
Then why is it legally considered "theft of services", which is a crime that directly includes the word "theft" in the name? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_of_services
Interesting. I wasn't aware of that, I stand corrected.
I think it's a bit silly to consider it theft, but I have to eat my words in this case :)