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Like two sides to every story there are two sides to the issue of piracy. It’s hard to not have an opinion on the matter. Some see any reason one might have to pirate as nothing more than an excuse to justify their behavior. Others legitimately take the position that there are reasons and circumstance why someone might pirate. An example of that might be they don’t agree with the industry and wish to incite change, and see the disobedience that comes with piracy one of the best and fastest ways to ensure that happens.
Most large company’s position is fairly simple, if it doesn’t belong to you and you download it, its stealing. It’s very cut and dry for them. They aggressively take this position for a few reasons. It’s important for them to defend their ownership rights because not doing so can damage their ability make future claims in regards to the work they hold copyrights for. Additionally, the lost sales means lost revenue and if they aren’t making money, why do business?
The opposing side doesn’t see it that way. For starters, where the opposition calls it theft, they call it copyright infringement. The difference can be a pretty big deal. For some it’s about morality, if they believe that that piracy isn’t stealing then it will ease their mind. People don’t go to jail for copyright infringement, but they do for theft.
There are numerous other reasons people pirate; one is simply the ability to acquire content without paying for it. In some cases it can be easier to pirate than to legitimately buy the content. Sometimes there are things that you might not be able to get through legitimate channels and piracy can provide an avenue to acquire that content. Additionally, many simply don’t care. The reality is that piracy has no negative impact on their life, so it doesn’t concern them to do so.