Tolerance Of Intellectual Property Theft

Abstract

A survey of the public tested the proposition that the degree to which theft is tolerable or reprehensible is significantly determined by whether the owner/victim is or is not directly deprived by the theft. Respondents registered their degree of condemnation of theft of physical goods from an individual and from a company, as well as theft of physical property and of intellectual property by copying the content. The findings indicate that theft of physical, personal property is regarded as significantly more reprehensible than either theft of physical goods from a non-personal owner or theft of intellectual property by copying content.