I have no qualm about "pirating" yet I like books and would love to buy one.
To me, copyright law should be treated as mere tools. Their benefits should be measured in economic term.
I viewed copyright law as limited monopoly right. Without copyright laws, the authors are not free to restrict what I can do with the material I aquired. Copyright law are ways that you can restricts people's ability to sell, distribute, and display works. They shouldn't be treated as naturaly given right. It should be treated as "compromise" between the publics and the authors. The public give up their right in the hope of economic benefits(lower price, more books, etc)
The morality should be able to line up with economic pretty well. For example, in an economic point of view, slavery is bad.
To me, copyright laws' benefit are uncertain. For example, they can be used to protect people from copycat frauds but also can be used to bully the public via threats and lawsuit. Patents law are just plain evil. We don't need to burden poor inventors with big threats by large corporations. It is often used by rent-seekers to crush their competitions who also have made spectular innovations. Patents inspire fear, rather than "security".
In all, I am all for the copyright and patent if they promote the advancement of culture, technology, and science(and also the economy). If they do not, I don't support them.
For now, I look at patents and copyright laws with suspicions.
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