I should clarify, though, that theft isn’t really a legal term. It kind of is. From a legal standpoint, it’s synonymous with larceny. Theft, however, is also a common language term. There are many forms of “theft” in the law. There’s larceny, robbery, conversion, embezzlement, larceny by trick, larceny by false pretenses, and yes, copyright infringement, patent infringement, and trademark infringement. Those last three are theft of intellectual property. In a way, it’s not theft, because the original property is still in the hands of the original owner. But it is theft in that you are depriving that owner of the financial benefits of owning that copyright, patent, or trademark.
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