Is file-swapping stealing?

The Greens/European Free Alliance has a web site and video designed to counter media industry claims that piracy is theft. The "I Wouldn't Steal" campaign argues that downloading movies or music without paying is "fundamentally different from stealing" - by which the group means physical theft of things like purses and cars.

The Green group consider that sharing is fair and that "consumers are willing to pay if offered good quality at a fair price." Media companies - especially the movie studios - have failed to offer viable legal alternatives to piracy. To reform the system, the Greens want to make royalty payments regressive, so that "artists get paid less the zillionth time their song is played than the first time. Frequently played artists will still make more money, but no longer out of proportion." To collect more revenue for artists, the Greens suggest taxing advertising on TV, radio, and billboards, since advertising is a "form of mental pollution" and "corporations should pay for pollution."

That all seems a positive way forward - what do others think?

Torrentfreak, which has covered the campaign, praises the fact that the Greens "stand up for people's right to share culture," while The Pirate Bay is running a "I Wouldn't Steal" logo on its front page. The music and movie industries will no doubt be less convinced by the campaign! In Sweden, seven MPs have recently sent a letter to Expressen in which they called for the decriminalization of file-swapping.