said by bored_in_nh:If someone downloads something without paying for it, isn't that usually because they want that item and don't have the resources to be able to afford it?
No. The MPAA (or RIAA) claims that a lot of the people downloading movies and music
have the resources to buy it but choose to steal it, instead. Given the people the RIAA has successfully
bullied into paying them gone after have had the resources to pay the thousands demanded; that money would buy a few CDs and DVDs, I'm sure.
That said, the numbers are clearly inflated since lots of people download far more movies and music than they would, in fact, purchase. For software, the inflation is far worse since people often
won't pay for a retail copy but
will pirate it. But again, it's not that they don't have the resources, it is that they don't think the software is worth the asking price.
So while the MPAA (or RIAA) is inflating the numbers, they do also have a case; they
are losing money to piracy, just not the billions and billions they claim.
Note that this is my opinion based on what I've seen; I don't have industry studies at hand.