2012-04-24, 04:21 PM
happylight Wrote:The sellers and makers of AK-47 aren't guilty of any crime when someone kills with their gun. The killer is.
If I opened a McDonald's right next to a Burger King I clearly intended to take away some of their revenue. That's not illegal either.
Last I checked, selling The Anarchist Cookbook which teaches people how to make explosives isn't illegal either.
As Eos said, you kind of took a metaphor too far and got away from the point. Keep in mind that AK-47s and similar rifles are not available for public ownership in many states for the very reason I stated and the same reason why The Anarchist Cookbook is no longer being published. The average gun shop owner isn't responsible for for someone using a rifle purchased at his store to kill, but anyone selling weapons on the black market to gang members with full knowledge is at least an accessory to murder. There is no doubt, based on my knowledge of copyright law, that the developers of these hacks committed illegal acts in an attempt to profit.
This entire topic has no connection to McDonald's vs Burger King which is a fair (level playing field) competition. This is about people stealing McDonald's recipes then opening a shop next door and selling the same products for less while simultaneously throwing Molotov cocktails at McDonald's so no one will go inside.
Since we're rapidly getting off topic and while I'm sure my colorful extended metaphors are interesting to everyone, they probably aren't contributing to the topic anymore. Suffice it to say that I think Oppenheimer would disagree with you and that inventors should have some level of accountability for the application of their technology when used as intended.