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Question Title Posted By Question Date
copyrights bobby Monday, March 4, 2013

Question:

hi brother


i was wondering what can i do in my situation , at the place i work i make artwork for billboards which requires me to use images on the internet and i recently discovered that it breaks copyright laws to use images on the net , is it my sin if im doing this for work also i is it my sin if my company didnt want to buy a specific program and i used a pirated version . i do live in a 3rd world country dont know if that makes any difference but the people here dont really care , but they do know the using pirated programs isnt entirly legal . this whole thing freaks me out because i dont want to offend God


thank you
God Bless



Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), CCL, LTh, DD, LNDC

Dear Bobby:

Whether or not you can use images has nothing to do with the Internet. It is a myth that anything on the Internet is fair game. Any image, regardless of where it is found, is copyrighted (according to the laws of the country to which the image was created) unless the copyright owner has granted rights to copy it under some provision or another, or the image is in public domain, such as those older than 75 years (under U.S. law), or placed in public domain, such as stock pictures. 

Using pirated software is a crime no matter what you use the software for and no matter where in the world you reside. Technically, you can be held legally liable for your theft, though I suppose this is not much of a chance if you live in one of those countries, such as some countries in the Orient and Africa, where copyright theft is common and corrupt authorities look the other (and thus participate as accomplices in crime).

Regardless of this, the moral issue transcends any man-made laws or lack of enforcement of man-made laws. Theft (of images or software) is sin according to God as spelled out in the Ten Commandments and thus we are held accountable for that theft before God.

I would suggest looking for another job that is not filled with criminals, as that is what they are if they do not care about stolen property and allow that stolen property to be used in their companies.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary


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