The definition given earlier was: "A person is guilty of theft, if he dishonestl... | Hacker News

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teamonkey on March 4, 2011 | parent | context | favorite | on: Piracy is Theft? Ridiculous. Lost Sales? They Don’...

The definition given earlier was: "A person is guilty of theft, if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it"

Peaker on March 5, 2011 [–]

I am not sure we can treat an abstract notion like "exclusivity" as property.

If we do, what if someone has exclusive knowledge of some algorithm, and then someone else discovers it too? Is he a thief?

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