1. When the content is no longer available for retail purchase (i.e old games or shows that have been pulled entirely [see Infinity Train])
2. You have a physical copy, but want a digital version.

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1. Work where the original author is dead. (The money is not going to the author).

1. Content that you cannot acquire by any “lawful” means.
2. Content that you already own a copy of (Yes, this includes “only” having a “license” to it; you own what you own).
3. Content that is outrageously priced, and/or from large companies where the people who worked on the product will receive nothing from sold copies. (EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, etc)

i have downloaded tens of thousands of dollars of audio recording software. i always told myself that, if i were to ever make money from my efforts and usage thereof, i would be happy to pay the author.

i never made any money. but i hope the right people got paid by those that did.

If it is not available to buy anywhere for me and the only way is piracy, I feel like piracy is justified. No one loses anything on this scenario.

When the money goes to people who did not create the media. Support creators, not exploiters.

Most people here arguing that the “ethical side” of piracy is when the media is not available elsewhere. Or if it’s available but at an abusive price/requirements. To which I agree.

But I also believe that culture shouldn’t be only for those who can afford it. Books, movies, videogames, tvshows, education, science is what makes a society culturally rich. This is exactly why we have libraries. It’s a public service. I’ve seen teens become avid consumers and incredibly knowledgeable in certain subjects, to the point that they are making a living because of it. Because the internet allow them to explore and grow. Without a pricetag nor preassure on their families.

Heck! Even I pirated almost everything in my teen years. Nowdays I pay for a lot of media. Don’t get me wrong, we should be supporting artists. Always. If possible.

If it’s not possible, go ahead just pirate it. Piracy it’s just the best digital library in history. With a heavy euphemism attached: “piracy” (the act of attacking ships in order to sack them, kill people, rape people). It has a bad connotation on purpose. Don’t fall for it.

Edit: punctuation

IMO it’s better to not pirate small indie content (mostly games in my case).

Any piracy related to scientific papers I consider ethical. That kind of knowledge should NEVER be hidden behind a paywall

Abandonware is a very clear cut case of ethical piracy, too. Without it, a lot of digital stuff “wouldn’t exist” anymore. Mainly games, but also loads of productivity programs, doubly so for discontinued platforms, like Amiga computers.

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As long as you’re not reselling or appropriating others’ creations as your own, everything is ethical.

if you owned a game but your license got pulled for no reason (assassin’s creed)

although pirating triple a titles is always ethical imo, devs usually get paid the same no matter how the game does

also pirating to try a game. steams 2 hour refund policy isnt enough, as 2 hours often is not enough to get into a game and see if u like it

pirating retro games
if the only way to play a game legitimately is to pay $500 for a cartridge, it’s ok to pirate

if you can’t afford a game (ex. low income countries), it’s ok to pirate. there are places where a full months salary isn’t enough for a single triple a titile

Suppose some dude on the street hands out books for free and gives you a copy. Does it make you unethical for accepting one? Would it be different online?

Suppose your government charges a “blank media tax” on storage devices to “compensate” creators with the assumption you already “illegally” download their content, didn’t you already pay for it anyway?

What if you’re downloading stuff as a hobby but you’d never pay for it if that would be the only other option, did anyone lose anything of value?

For me the primary question is “Am I willing and able to buy this firsthand”.

The latter is the most obvious. For instance, Nintendo won’t sell me a game for the ds no matter how willing I am to buy. Therefore, I have no issues with pirating said game since they refuse to distribute it.

The former is more nuanced. Sometimes it’s a matter of distain for the company and their business practices, such as Adobe. Sometimes it’s a matter of the thing being incredibly overpriced. Sometimes it’s just something that contributes so little value to me the only reason I’d interact with it is if it’s free. Sometimes it’s lack of knowledge about what I’m getting, and I want to try it first.

Also when it comes to Anime specifically, I try to support creators in other ways because my objections to the licensing companies in the US has nothing to do with the content itself.