[pp.int.general] Origin of the term "piracy"

Heesob Nam hurips at gmail.com
Tue Sep 14 18:22:38 CEST 2010


In some culture, the term "piracy" when it is translate into local
language conveys very negative meaning. This is one of the challeges
that I face when I try to build a "Pirate" party in my country.

Adrian Johns, in his book "Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from
Gutenberg to Gates (2010)" argues that "[T]he word piracy  derives
from a distant Indo-European root meaning a trial or attempt, or
(presumably by extension) an experience or experiment. It is an irony
of history that in the distant past it meant something so close to the
creativity to which it is now reckoned antithetical (at page 35)."

Best,
Heesob


More information about the pp.international.general mailing list