it's a fallacy (Score 1)

The argument that the entertainment industry uses to attempt to crack down on piracy is that every illegitimate copy represents a lost sale. This is a fallacy. Certainly some copies are made by people who would otherwise pay the full price if they couldn't get it any other how. But I suspect that most who make illegitimate copies would never actually purchase the works they copy. Many copies are made as 'try-outs' or out of idle curiosity.

Now this argument obviously doesn't 'legitimize' the copies themselves in the eyes of the law, but it does give the industry's strident arguments an overblown quality. Their hysteria is likely based on a deep fear; and they should be afraid, because they just don't get it.